


Tomorrow's Horizon

by AlariOdonell



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Crossover, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, F/F, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Post-Save Arcadia Bay Ending, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23723827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlariOdonell/pseuds/AlariOdonell
Summary: In 2017, a mysterious stranger walks into Max Caulfield's life. With a promise of seeing Chloe again, they set out on a journey to reunite brothers, find old friends, and create a better future for them all.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Sean Diaz/Original Character(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

_Northern Oregon Coast_

_August 6th, 2017, 8:45pm_

_1 month and 2 days since the surrender at the border_

_3 years, 9 months, and 30 days since the death of Chloe Price_

It was the blue hour, a full moon. The waves crashed on the rocks hundreds of feet below. Max had never really been one for landscapes, but she and Lukas had been driving for the better part of a day and had stopped to stretch their legs. Lukas needed to feed his vice and as he pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his windbreaker pocket, Max stepped out of the passenger side of the car, approached the overlook, and took in the sights, the sounds, even the smell of the coast. The raw, almost primal energy of the horizon before her was calling, and she needed to capture it.  
  
Reaching into her bag, worn from both overuse and memories she refused to let go of, she grabbed her polaroid camera and, _click_ , the moment was forever preserved. She briefly paused to admire the shot, knowing that if she had more professional equipment at her disposal it would have turned out even better. But she had to make do, and she had always been a fan of this particular form of photography, anyway.

Placing the camera back in her bag, she held onto the photo, closed her eyes and breathed in the salty spray. It was calming. The voice that called out from behind her was a rude awakening, both in how it pulled her from her reverie and in how unwelcome it was.

“Another storm is coming. You feel it, right?” Lukas said.

In her mind’s eye, she caught a glimpse of a massive tornado on the water. The fury of nature on full display was overwhelming. Trapped in the middle of a storm she could not escape, she could only watch helplessly as it careened towards Arcadia Bay. The smell of the ocean in that memory was the only link to the present that she could find.

Max took in the scenery again: calm, serene, nothing like the horror she had just relived, if only momentarily. She turned in the direction of the voice to find her “traveling companion” leaning against the side of his car. A folded newspaper was in one hand, his cigarette in the other. He brought the cigarette to his mouth, holding it in place with his lips while he took a drag and ran his now free hand though his short auburn hair, tousling it up a bit. He looked up from the paper to make eye contact with her as he took the cigarette back in his hand. She still wasn’t sure how to get a read on him.

“I think you and I have a different idea of what a storm looks like,” she said, making a not-so-subtle attempt at dry wit. “Things seem pretty calm right now.”

He chuckled in response, but it was almost patronizing. “I didn’t ask if you could _see_ a storm coming. I asked if you could _feel_ it.”

Max narrowed her eyes. She didn’t understand what the difference was. Storms had a definite feel to them. The change in temperature, air pressure, wind. But you could usually see the changes in the atmosphere when a storm was on the horizon. The physical and the visual working in concert was almost always a given.

“Different question, same answer,” she responded. “What is your deal anyway? Can you cut the ‘mysterious wanderer’ bullshit and just clearly answer _my_ question that I asked you yesterday? How do you know about my powers?” She knew there was a caveat to that question, but she wasn’t ready to reveal that yet. She needed to keep that card close to her chest.

She watched Lukas take another drag. The last one. Inhale. The embers flickered and glowed. Exhale. He tossed the butt away and their eyes met. Max was doing her best to convey a sense of disgust. Disgust for the habit? Not at all. Chloe had smoked around her and she didn’t give a shit. No, this disgust was for the fact that he had been withholding information from her. Considering they had been on the road from San Francisco since that morning with little more than a brief introduction, a few choice words, and a plea for help, he definitely owed her a more detailed explanation. It wasn’t like they didn’t have time to spare. Right?

He walked over to where Max stood. Side-by-side there was a noticeable difference in stature, but Max had always been slightly below-average in height. He seemed to take in the view she had already so handily captured via polaroid. It really wasn’t a bad view at all. He appeared to be contemplating how best to respond to her question. When he finally spoke, it was to the ocean, not Max.

“When you manipulate time, it creates a ripple effect. The more frequently you do it, the stronger the effect becomes.” He glanced over at her and smirked. “You were pretty busy that week.”

“If by busy you mean doing everything I could to stop Arcadia Bay from being wiped out,” Max remarked. The sadness came, readily apparent in her eyes. “Then I realized there was nothing I could do without sacrificing my best friend. So, yeah, if that’s what you mean, then I was pretty busy.” The sadness dissipated, quickly replaced by resentment and anger.

“You tried to change too much, too fast. Too many do-overs,” he explained. “It’s like constantly picking at a scab. If you don’t stop, it’s never going to heal. Fucking with time kind of works the same way. When you make a change, you create a wound. You need to give it time to heal, before you change anything else.”

Max was getting frustrated. He was still fucking doing it. All she wanted was a straight answer and he kept talking in metaphors. If it weren’t for the fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, or worse, she would have punched his smug face. But that wasn’t who Max was. She had always been passive, to a fault. Sure, when the moment called for decisiveness she was clearly able to deliver, but it was certainly not her forte. 

“Ok, cool, when you manipulate time you hurt the space-time continuum or some shit. I get that.” The exasperation in Max’s voice was easily detectable. “But even if what I was doing was making these, what did you say? Ripples? What does that have to do with you?”

Lukas chuckled again, apparently lacking self-control. “You’re not the only one with a superpower Max. The one you have, how you use it, certainly is unique to you. But there are other people, with other powers. Some related to time, some not. It’s complicated. And we don’t exactly have a lot of time for a collegiate-level lecture on it.” 

Lukas pulled up the zipper on his hoodie a little more and crossed his arms as he spoke. The breeze coming off the ocean was surprisingly cold for an August evening. “Short version? I can...move through, or, I guess, visually see different timelines in my mind? I can see different scenarios, the events leading up to them, and can try to manipulate things in the present to create a specific outcome. But it requires some degree of subtlety and--” He glanced over at her, as if he was weighing his next words carefully. “--talent.” Max did not budge. He continued, “When I’m seeing these scenarios and outcomes, I become acutely aware of fluctuations like the ones you caused. I can’t outright change the past, like you can. But I _can_ attempt to change the future.”

Lukas continued to speak, but his words were lost in a mental fog. Max’s eyes widened as she thought back to the moment she and Lukas had first crossed paths.

He had stopped her as she was walking back to her car from one of her classes at SFAI, asking for directions to a cafe nearby. Max knew the place and knew her car was on the way there. Under normal circumstances she would not have just asked some random guy to walk with her so she could give him directions, but it was the middle of the day in a fairly crowded public space, so she could afford to be a good samaritan. 

As they walked they had made small talk about what he was doing in San Francisco (visiting some friends from college, he had said). When they had neared her car parked at a meter (and probably out of time) she stopped to verbally guide him the rest of the way. Her words, in fact her entire being, were stopped dead in their tracks when out of nowhere the screeching of tires and ear-piercing cacophony of metal twisting into yet more metal filled the air. 

Looking to her left, her car was a complete and total wreck. A sideswipe had caused a vehicle in motion to t-bone her car, right where she would have been sitting. She would have died instantly. She turned back to the man, intending to ask if he was ok, but his stare stopped any words from leaving her mouth. He had not moved, not even remotely phased by the vehicular carnage taking place mere feet from him. His focus was entirely on Max. 

“I know who you are Max Caulfield,” he had said, “I know what you can do. And I need your help.”

She had been so blindsided by everything she hadn’t asked many questions. With Lukas, all Max had to go off of was a plea for her trust and a promise of answers along the way to wherever it was they were heading.

It was probably a bad idea, placing any sort of trust in him. Max’s life had just briefly flashed before her eyes while this stranger revealed they knew her secret. But they had been driving all day, and despite Lukas’ rambling into what clearly _was_ a collegiate-level lecture, the topic of her powers still had not been broached, nor how she could use them to help him. What was she doing? How could she help this guy she barely knew when the truth deep down, the answer she needed, was there the whole time? 

Max held up her hand, signaling him to shut up. “Look, I don’t know what you _think_ you know about me, but I haven’t used my powers since Chloe died.” Saying her name, suddenly the conversation felt more real, more raw. She could tell by Lukas’ unwavering gaze that she did not have to explain. She pressed on. “I swore to never mess with time again after that shit. I’m not even sure I have them anymore.”

Lukas smiled. It was genuine, endearing. “Really, Max? How do you know?”

Max could not believe this asshole. Had she stuttered? Did it matter if she hadn’t used them? “Why do you care?” she snapped. “You say you need my help. But I can’t help you if the reason you need it is exclusively _because_ of my powers. Even if I could still use them...I can’t. The danger is too great.” She tore her eyes away to look back at the ocean. “If something were to happen that put innocent lives at risk, I couldn’t live with myself if-”

“Clearly you haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said Max,” Lukas interrupted. “I can see different scenarios. I can manipulate the outcome. Why would I have bothered tracking you down and, for lack of a better way of putting it, saving your life, if in every scenario I looked at, you didn’t have your powers anymore or using them would _cause_ disaster?”

The harshness of his words cut through Max like a knife. “So you’re saying you would have just let me die otherwise?”

“People die every day Max.” Lukas was being incredibly terse. “I know this is harsh, but something is coming that is bigger than either of us. Bigger than Arcadia Bay. If you didn’t still have your powers, I would not have been there that day. And yes, you would have died. But people like us don’t exist to right all the wrongs of the world Max. We have to think about the greater good. You figured that one out the hard way.”

Max couldn’t believe what she was hearing. For that one week she truly believed she could create real, permanent change. Change for the better. Even small, simple changes. Giving Warren a better, well-deserved grade on his chemistry homework, warning Alyssa about airborne projectiles...saving Kate. 

But for every positive change she tried to make, the universe seemed to conspire against her with disastrous consequences. The greater good? The only thing she truly had done for the greater good was swearing off her powers. 

An annoying repetitive noise brought her back from her quiet contemplation. Lukas had rolled up the newspaper he had been reading into a cylinder and was tapping it against his leg. He was staring at her intently.

“Do you want to bring Chloe back?” he asked.

“W-what?” She knew the answer to that question in her heart of hearts. But she also knew the cost. Chloe knew the cost. And Chloe had been willing to pay it.

“What if I told you there was a way that we could?” Lukas seemed like he was just trying to get a rise out of her.

“Fuck you, Lukas,” Max spat. “You barely know me. You don’t know what I went through. Do not walk into my life, talking about time manipulation and some doomsday shit, and then try to coerce me with empty promises of bringing my dead friend back to life.” Max had not felt such anger in so long. The last time she truly felt this anger was towards Jefferson, and that sick fuck was thankfully safe behind bars now. “You will never know how much she meant to me and she died knowing the cost of her survival was too great. There’s no going back after that.”

“You’re right, Max.” He smiled again. “There is no going back. Not that far. We can move forward. And we can still bring Chloe back.”

“How?” She asked.

Lukas checked his watch and made a _tsk_ sound. “Another time, Max. We’ve wasted enough of it as it is. We need to get back on the road. Good talk though.” He turned to walk back to the car. 

What. The. Fuck. Max was not going to take that sitting down. She refused to have her best friend dangled in front of her face, only to have her snatched away again. Especially just so he could drag her along for the ride. Max reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.

“What are you doing Max?” Lukas called from over by the car, his voice carrying an air of annoyance.

“Going home. We’re done here,” she said as she scrolled through her apps to find Uber. Opening the app, there wasn’t a driver within 75 miles. Fuck, they really were out in the sticks. She started to Google taxi services, hoping to find somebody, anybody, to pick her up. She didn’t feel threatened enough to call the police, but there was no way she was getting back into a car with him. As she went to tap the number she had found, her phone was ripped from her hands.

“I’m sorry Max. I can’t let you do that. I need you.” Lukas’ voice rang out from just outside her peripheral. Before Max could even react, he had tossed her phone over the cliff. 

“Wait! Stop!” Max reached out her hand and time began to freeze. Slowly, then increasingly faster, time reversed. The phone flew back up the cliffside and back into Lukas’ hands. She continued to rewind until it was back in her own. She needed to think fast on how to change the situation. At Blackwell she usually had to react quickly to change what had just played out moments before. She was about to release time back into its normal flow, maybe run before Lukas could get to her. Then, she saw it. Lukas was standing there, but it wasn’t just a repeat of the events. He was present, making direct eye contact, cognizant of exactly what she was doing.

“Can’t use your powers anymore, huh?” He smirked. “You can stop now. Your phone is safe.”

Max released time. She stared at Lukas incredulously for a few moments. It was smooth, she had to admit. He’d managed to coax her powers out of her and she hadn’t even realized he was doing it.

“Max, I know that this is a lot to take in right now, and I know I don’t even remotely deserve it, but I need you to trust me. A storm _is_ coming, and only a few of us can stop it.” Lukas placed his hands into a praying gesture, imploring Max with his words. “I promise you, if you stay with me on this, you _will_ see Chloe again.”

Even now, Max still couldn’t completely get a read on Lukas. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe his words were true. She had seen his power in action and he obviously knew more about her and her past than he let on. Could she really get to see Chloe? She knew, deep down, that she wanted that more than anything else in the world. Even if, just for a little while, she could see how this played out, she was game. The only problem was that, if Lukas could manipulate her powers at will, she would be completely defenseless against him. But the hope of seeing Chloe was enough to push that out of her mind.

Max nodded in affirmation. “Ok, I’m in. For now.” Lukas grinned and started to head back to the car. Max closely followed, stopping him before he could open the driver’s side door. “But I get full say on the usage of my powers. And if I want out at any point, you won’t stop me. Deal?” She extended her hand to him.

Lukas appeared to contemplate the offer. His mind was clearly working in overdrive. If there was any ill will or malice in his thoughts, his eyes did not show it. He took her hand in return, firmly. “Deal.”

Lukas got behind the wheel and placed the newspaper cylinder in one of the cupholders. Max climbed in the front passenger seat as Lukas started the engine. “Looks like we have enough gas to get us to our next stop, I think,” he mumbled absent-mindedly as he put the car in drive. Max grabbed the newspaper in the cupholder and unrolled it to the article that Lukas had been reading. It was a continuation of a front-page piece, so she rearranged the paper back into its proper order and read the headline:

**16 YEAR OLD FUGITIVE SEAN DIAZ TAKES PLEA BARGAIN. 15 YEARS FOR VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER OF SEATTLE POLICE OFFICER.**

“You said that ‘only a few of us’ can stop it,” Max noted while continuing to read the article. “Since there’s only two of us, I assume there’s someone else you haven’t mentioned yet?”

Lukas nodded without taking his eyes off the road. “Let’s just say we have some work to do.”

As they drove into the night, the headlights of Lukas’ car illuminated a road sign that read **“Beaver Creek - 45mi”**.

**_To be continued..._ **


	2. Chapter 2

_Beaver Creek, Oregon_

_August 6th, 2017, 10:00pm_

Lukas let off the gas and turned into the parking lot of the _Dam Motel_. Cute. Did everything in this town have a fucking beaver theme? It didn’t matter. He was tired, and he knew Max was too. They had been on the road for over 11 hours at this point and their next stop was not a place they could just roll on up to at this hour. Putting the car in park, he tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long dramatic sigh.

“You ok over there?” Max’s voice called to his right.

Without skipping a beat, Lukas nodded, reinforcing it with, “Yeah. Just tired. It’s been a long time since I’ve driven this much in one day.” That was no lie, Lukas hadn’t been on a real road trip in ages. He had been privileged enough to travel by air most of the time. Even his brief foray into San Francisco had started on a plane. This car was a rental. And knowing what he knew, he wasn’t sure if it was going to make it back at its designated drop-off time.

Lukas opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. This was certainly the textbook definition of a roach motel, but there wasn’t exactly a surplus of 5-star hotels in The-Middle-of-Nowhere, Oregon. When the morning came they needed to achieve their next objective as quickly as possible, and continue on. No continental breakfast for this duo. He turned his attention to Max, who was still reading the newspaper.

“That must be a real-page turner for you to be so engrossed in it for, what,” Lukas said, checking his watch since the clock on the dash had already shut off. “The last hour and 15 minutes?”

Max shook her head while continuing to stare at the page. “It’s just so sad. I remember hearing something about a police officer dying and some protests in Seattle back around Halloween last year. But after I had checked on my p-” she paused.

Lukas tilted his head and gave her a moment. He wanted to hear what she had to say. “Go on,” he pressed her.

“Well, I guess we need to try to get to know each other, right?” She asked.

“I mean, if we’re going to be on the road together, it probably wouldn’t hurt,” said Lukas.

“Well, what I was going to say was that my parents live in Seattle, so when all that craziness was going on, I was really concerned about them,” Max said. “But you probably knew that already, right?”

Lukas shrugged and gave a half-smile that was quickly becoming his calling card. “I’m semi-clairvoyant, Max, I’m not a stalker.” He laughed even though he knew it wasn’t that funny. In fact, he was briefly worried it may have come off as slightly creepy. “But, yeah, I had a general idea that you lived apart from them. Sometimes I can see things in alternate timelines with absolute clarity. Subjects and their actions. Like you using your powers, for example. Probably because of that ripple effect I mentioned earlier. But it doesn’t mean I know everything about you as a person. I had just assumed by your appearance that you were old enough to live on your own.”

Max gave Lukas a very slow nod as if she had a basic grasp on what he was saying. But it was obvious by her expression that she still didn’t quite _get_ it. Turning her attention back to the newspaper, she continued, “Anyway, once I knew my family was safe and there wasn’t anything super cereal going on--” Lukas snorted and she paused for a moment-- “I guess I just stopped following the story. But reading it here, wow, this is just a gross miscarriage of justice. Sign of the times I guess?”

Lukas peered over at the newspaper to see where she was in the article. “Agreed. That poor kid is about to lose out on the best years of his life.” He went back to staring straight out the windshield. “It’s a shame. Damn shame. Makes you wish there was something you could do.”

Max folded up the newspaper, crossed her arms and turned to Lukas. “Funny you should mention that,” she said. “Given what happened back at the overlook, it seems like you’re one step ahead. This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with why you need my help, would it?” She held up the paper so the front page headline was fully visible.

Lukas laughed. Max was catching on a lot faster than he expected her to. True, given their recent arrangement, he had essentially doomed himself to the possibility of working alone. But that was always a potential outcome. Both this outcome, and all the others, had been visible to him. Regardless, the seemingly insurmountable task before them would be infinitely easier if Max was on board. Lukas had played this game for years and it was the quintessential example of 4D chess. He knew what he needed to do, and was roughly aware of the steps he needed to take. But unlike Max, Lukas couldn’t get a do-over. If he fucked this up, there was no going back.

Lukas threw up his arms in a show of mock surrender. “Alright, you got me,” he said. “Yes. That was part of it. Guilty as charged.” He extended his arms towards her with his wrists side by side, as if expecting to be handcuffed.

“Not funny, Lukas,” said Max, putting the paper in her lap. “I didn’t sign up for a prison break.”

“To be fair, you didn’t know _what_ you were signing up for at all,” Lukas said, correcting her. “I take full responsibility for that. Needless to say, there will be no breaking out of prisons. I hope.”

Max made a time-out motion with her hands. “Wait, you _hope_? That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.”

“Completely valid,” Lukas said, sighing. “I can tell you more but I need three things first: a room, a shower, and a beer. Cool?”

Max sighed in reply and started to unbuckle her seatbelt. “Yeah, sure. Cool.” Lukas watched her fiddle around in her purse. “Sure hope I have enough,” Max muttered to herself.

Lukas began to step out of the car before pausing to look back at Max. “Don’t worry, I got this,” he said. 

He shut the door and started walking toward the front office of the motel, its light a beacon of warmth on the still surprisingly chilly summer night. He could hear Max running behind him, trying to catch up.

“Are you sure?” Max asked once they were side-by-side again. “I mean, I don’t mind at all. I’m totally capable of paying for myself.”

Lukas waved her off as he reached into his pocket to pull out his pack of cigarettes. He was going to need another smoke before settling in for the night. It wasn’t healthy and Lukas had been trying to kick the habit, but sometimes it was the only way he could cope. Aiden would have hated it, no question. Lukas pushed the thought from his mind, reminding himself to stay focused on the task at hand. It was the only thing keeping him sane. Max’s question finally reached Lukas’ ears, and he realized he’d been on autopilot.

“No, really,” he said, half-stating it, half-chuckling. “It’s fine. What kind of semi-clairvoyant time stalker/kidnapper would I be if I didn’t at least pay for your room?”

“The usual kind,” she replied, matter-of-factly.

“Touché.” 

He laughed at her as they reached the office door. Like a gentleman, he held the door open and motioned for Max to enter first. She seemed to appreciate the gesture, which eased his mind a little bit. He _needed_ to gain her trust. He needed _her_ , and far more than he had let on.

As they approached the front desk they were met with the grizzled, yet friendly, countenance of an elderly woman. She smiled warmly at them as they reached the counter. Lukas noticed her name tag and could just barely make out ‘Francine’ among the faded letters etched into the plastic. 

“Welcome to the Dam Inn,” said Francine, while Lukas tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a laugh with a fake cough. It seemed to fly over her head, though. “How can I help you tonight? Let me guess: one king? Maybe our honeymoon suite?”

Lukas felt his face flush. Maybe he was passing more easily than he thought he did. Obviously the last thing he wanted was to be put into an awkward situation with Max. Did he miss something in the timelines? Was he so focused on the big picture that he overlooked this detail? Luckily, Max quickly put his mind to rest.

“Yeah, I’m sure this one would love that,” said Max, pointing her thumb in his direction. “But I’ve had more than my fill for the day. I’d like my own room, please.”

“Same for me,” Lukas added, grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket. “Oh and one of those beers, please,” he said, pointing at the drink cooler before looking over at Max, “Oh sorry, did you want one too?”

Max smiled. “Hey, if you’re buying, I’m all in,” she said.

Francine rapped on the keyboard of a stone-age computer. The green-and-black screen reflected in her spectacles. Lukas should have expected nothing less than top-of-the-line tech in this town. 

“Ok, two king rooms and two beers. I’ll need to see both of your IDs please,” said Francine.

Max willingly complied but Lukas was slightly taken aback. Did he still look that young? No. It couldn’t have been that. Obviously she needed the ID to put down their info for the rooms. As they placed their IDs on the counter, Lukas stole a glance at Max’s. Huh, so they _were_ the same age. In fact, he was about a month older. Ok, so maybe he did still have a babyface, but whatever. He was still of age.

As Francine typed their information into the system, she did exactly what Lukas was dreading. He hoped and prayed she wouldn’t but he supposed it was cosmic karma for his slights against Max: she made small talk. “So what brings you to Beaver Creek? We don’t get a lot of tourists up this way this time of year.”

“Oh, you know,” Lukas managed to eke that one out so he was halfway there. “Just passing through. Maybe stopping to visit some old friends along the way.”

“Oh really?” Francine looked away from her screen and up to Lukas, seeming genuinely interested, much to his chagrin. “We’re a pretty small town here, anybody I’d know?”

For fuck’s sake, why did this old bag have to keep asking questions? Couldn’t she just give them the keys and horse piss so they could go on their merry way? He spied Max out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be lost in thought. He gave her ankle a soft nudge with his foot as if to say _help me out here_.

Max broke out of her stupor and appeared to put on her best fake nice smile. “Oh, uh, just going to see good old Grandpa Charlie. You probably don’t know him.” 

Lukas exhaled, but realized it was louder than he intended when Francine gave him a weird look before she turned her attention back over to Max. “You don’t mean Charles Eriksen do you? I didn’t think he was old enough to have grandkids.”

“Oh no, definitely not.” Max quickly responded. “No, Charles...Prescott?”

“Ah, I see. I don’t know that one, he must not live here in town,” she said, handing back their IDs and turning to get the beers out of the cooler. 

“No no. A little ways out, this was just the closest rest stop on the way.” Max said as she put her ID back in her wallet.

Smooth, Max, real smooth. Lukas prayed she’d let the conversation drop there. He had just finished replacing his ID when Francine placed two beers on the counter.

“This is all on my tab by the way,” he said as he handed her his credit card. “What’s the damage?”

As soon as they were out the door with the keys to room 8 and 9 in hand, Lukas pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit up. Taking a long drag, he held it in for an eternity before slowly exhaling. Lukas could feel the stress and anxiety melt away. Walking silently with Max back to the car, he popped the trunk, revealing two duffle bags. It was the least he could do, giving Max some time to pack her things before they hit the road. Flicking the butt of his cigarette into the dark, he realized he had finished it in the short walk from the office to the car.

Walking over to their adjacent rooms, Max called out to Lukas just as he had turned the key in the lock. “Mind if I swing by for Jailbreak Discussion Part _Deux_ after I drop my things in the room?” she said.

Lukas raised his unopened beer to her and smiled. “Sure thing. I’ll keep the door unlocked.”

Entering the room, Lukas turned on the lights, dropped his bag by the door and practically fell onto the king bed, exhausted. The room had a musty odor and the wood-panel walls were adorned with decorations that would have been in fashion 5 decades ago. But he didn’t care, he was too tired. One night, and it was behind them. He could have easily fallen asleep in his current position, but the sound of Max entering the room forced him from the warm embrace of slumber. Willing what little strength he had to turn himself over, he sat up on the edge of the bed.

Max held the beer bottle at the neck between her thumb and index finger and gave it a little shake from side to side.

“Little help?” she asked.

Lukas took the bottle from her and cracked it open with a bottle opener on his keychain. The hiss as the cap bent and broke away from the bottle was oddly satisfying. Passing the bottle back to her, he grabbed his own and enjoyed another ASMR-esque round of carbonated bliss. They held the bottles up to one another, a light _clink_ broke the quietness of the room, and they each took a swig.

Max sat at the small table across from the bed and took another sip. They drank in silence for what felt like hours. There was tension in the air, Lukas could not deny it. But he was, for the most part, an open book, Max just needed to learn how to read him. To gain her trust, he had to let her take the lead. Content to sip the silence away, he waited until she was ready.

Finally, the moment came, and with it the million-dollar question. “So why do we need Sean Diaz? I guess, more importantly, why are we here? The article said he was being placed in a juvenile facility in Washington. There’s faster ways to get there than this route.”

Lukas nodded and sipped at the same time. “Very true Max, very true. But I’m not surprised you caught that. Nothing escapes the keen eyes of a photographer. And a very skilled one, I might add. In tracking you down I managed to come across a lot of work. It was very impressive.”

Max held up her hand. “Thank you, but, just answer the question.”

“Fair enough.” Lukas put the beer down on the nightstand. “Remember how you said you had heard about the incident in Seattle but hadn’t really followed the case otherwise?” He waited for her affirmation. She nodded, and he continued. “If you had, you would have seen the case popping up in different places. California, Nevada, Arizona...here. And it was never just Sean. His brother was with him.”

“You’re right, the article did mention his brother,” said Max. “But he was only nine or ten I think. I just assumed he was along for the ride.”

Lukas smiled at her. “If you paid attention to the details, everywhere they went there was some insane shit that went down.” 

The expression on Max’s face made it obvious that she was putting two and two together rapidly. This was how the game was played. Feed them the information, let them come to the right conclusion, get the outcome that you need. In his mind, Lukas caught a brief glimpse of a jungle gym on a playground. He pushed the thought aside. He couldn’t get ahead of himself. He had to be subtle. It had never failed him before.

“So which one of them has powers?” Max asked. 

“An excellent question. And I can honestly say--” he paused letting the silence create unnecessary dramatic tension, “--I’m not sure. I mean, I _think_ I’m sure but like I said, sometimes I can see subjects and their actions with perfect clarity. But because they were always so closely intertwined, I can’t be 100%.”

Again, Max nodded like she grasped what Lukas was talking about but the glazed look in her eyes belied a full understanding. “So I understand that we need to get Sean, but where is his brother? I read in the article that he was too young to be charged and was moved to an undisclosed location.”

Lukas spread out his arms and made a show of looking around the room. “You said it yourself: there are faster ways to get to the facility where Sean is than the route we’ve been taking. Why do you think we stopped here?”

Reality seemed to dawn on Max and she took another sip of her beer. 

“So he’s here in Beaver Creek? Family?” she asked. Lukas nodded and smiled. 

“How were we planning on getting him to come along?” she said. “It’s not like two random twenty-somethings are just going to show up at someone’s home and ask to take their 10 year old kid on a little adventure. I don’t have to be clairvoyant to know there isn’t a single fucking reality where that would fly.”

“You never saw _Abducted in Plain Sight_ , Max?” said Lukas in such a tone to suggest that Max had been living under a rock for the last six months. “That’s totally the plan.” When he paused to wait for the laugh from Max that never came, he sighed and pressed on. “Honestly, I know there is a timeline where he comes with us, but I’m not sure how best to push us to that point. There are too many variations for me to figure it out. Thankfully, though, I have _you_ to help with that.”

“What, you expect me to just rewind and keep trying until we somehow convince him to come along?” Max inquired. “What about doing too much too fast? Reopening the wound and all that? Wouldn’t it be easier to have a plan beforehand?” 

Max had just opened the question floodgate and it was up to Lukas to close the dam. Lukas held up his hand. 

“Yes, it would, but sometimes these things don’t always go according to plan. I can’t guarantee the steps I take will ultimately result in what I want to happen,” said Lukas. “We’ll need your rewind power, but we’ll also need to be observant. Anything about the conversation, the surroundings, anything we can use to push the scenario to the desired outcome.” 

He considered for a moment. “I know it isn’t going to be easy,” he continued. “Nothing about this situation is, but, I’ve seen what you can do Max. I know we can accomplish this together. If we’re careful, the goal we’re working towards will undo any damage we cause in the interim.”

Max finished off her beer and effortlessly tossed the bottle in the trash across the room by the TV. “And that goal is what, exactly?” she asked. As she spoke she had gotten up and started walking to the door. It was clear to Lukas by the tone of her voice and her body language that she knew he wasn’t going to give away the entire farm in one night.

“There’ll be time for that later, Max. Get some sleep. We’ve got an early start tomorrow,” he said, giving her a weary smile. He stood up and started to walk towards the bathroom. “Just don’t Uber yourself away on me in the middle of the night, ok?”

Max shook her head and returned the smile as she opened the door to leave. “Nah. I’m intrigued now. I want to see where this goes. But one last question.”

“Hmmm?” Lukas stopped and turned back to face her.

“If we pull this off and it turns out it’s Sean’s brother that has the power, and is the _only_ one of them that does, do we still need to bother with Sean?” He could read in her face that her feelings about Sean’s case were still fresh. He couldn’t blame her, he felt the same way.

“They’re kind of a package deal,” said Lukas, crossing his arms and looking off to the side. “We can’t have one without the other. That might have to be our bargaining chip.”

Max nodded. “Got it. Well,” she turned to leave and paused. “Good night, Lukas.”

“Night, Max.” He waved as he turned to head back to the bathroom. Flipping on the light switch, he was grateful to have what at least looked like decent towels to dry off with. He reached into the shower and turned on the faucet. Steam quickly filled the room as Lukas undressed. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and leaned it up against the bathroom mirror so the music coming from the speakers would echo off the glass and fill the room.

“Hey Google, play ‘Starboy’ by the Weeknd,” he shouted over the din of the showerhead. The drum beat filled the air as he stepped into the near scalding water. Shampoo. Rinse. Soap. Rinse. He placed his right hand against the shower wall and leaned into it, taking in the music as he let his mind wander over the events of the day. And what a day it had been. He couldn’t believe how smoothly things had gone so far. Tomorrow would be the first real test of how easily his goal could be achieved. He wasn’t sure they could pull it off, but he had faith in Max. Her last question kept replaying in his mind:

“Do we still need to bother with Sean?”

Yes. Sean’s face was clear as day in Lukas’ mind. The pain, the suffering, the anguish. Lukas knew the truth though, despite what he had told Max: 

Daniel. It had always been Daniel. 

If Max knew, she’d try to stop him from going after Sean. But Sean was powerless, and _that_ was precisely why they needed to help him. Max had called it ‘a gross miscarriage of justice’, which was a polite way of calling it what it was: fucking bullshit. Lukas had stood by too often while wrongs were being committed in the world. He knew that if he could just fix this one, it would clear his conscience. And as an added bonus, it would probably help with getting Daniel on board.

He turned the water off and grabbed the towel from the rack just outside the shower. After drying himself off he wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out. He hated getting out of the shower. No matter how much you dried off it was still so fucking cold when you first got out. It was like a reminder of how cruel the world is as soon as you are granted freedom. The warmth and comfort of home gives way to the cold indifference of society. Sometimes sooner, rather than later, for people like Sean.

Lukas walked over to the mirror and wiped away the fog. The slender build with his face attached to it had never sat right with him. Everybody had their issues, he supposed. Nobody liked the way they looked in a mirror. But with Lukas, it never seemed to get better, or be enough. He leaned into the counter until his face was only a foot away from the mirror. Staring into verdant pools, a lingering silence filled the air, the music from his phone had long since stopped playing. He took in his face, his chest, his arms, his hands, the entire room via the mirror. He could see the bed and table through the door behind him. 

He blinked. 

A chill filled his body. The reflection changed, it was no longer a hotel room, but a patient’s room at a hospital. The beat of his heart could be felt in his throat as he focused on the foot of the bed behind him. Eyes tracing up from the base of the bed, he saw the outline of someone’s feet under the blankets. The steady beep of a heart monitor was the only sound to break the silence.

 _Beep_.

Lukas took a breath, but it rattled in his chest. The air around him was unbelievably cold, like someone had cranked the air conditioning down into the 50s. 

_Beep_. 

_Beep_.

He wanted to turn around, to close his eyes, to do anything to push this reflection away. Despite every fiber of his being screaming out, his body refused to respond. The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

 _Beep_. 

_Beep_. 

_Beep_.

He was so close...so close to making this nightmare go away. 

_Beep_ . _Beep_.

 _Beep_ _Beep_.

The pace had increased. His eyes widened. He still couldn’t move.

 _Beep_ . _Beep_ . _Beep_ . _Beep_ . _Beep_ . _Beep_ . _Beep_. 

The moment was almost here. There was no stopping it.

The long, drawn-out sound of the flatline haunted him, never ending, a constant reminder of the loss. Lukas finally found the strength to turn from the mirror, as he heard a scream that was clearly his voice but which had not originated from him. As he ran to the bed, he stopped. He was back in the hotel. He leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, gasping for air. It felt like no matter how much he wanted to breathe he could not get enough.

Lukas stopped, rose from the floor and caught his breath. Inhale. Exhale. He couldn’t give in, couldn’t let it get to him. He needed to keep pushing on for Aiden. Stepping back into the bathroom, he grabbed his clothes. Throwing them on, he quickly turned off the lights, grabbed his cigarettes and lighter off the nightstand, and went to step outside for a smoke. When he got back in he would crash and, hopefully, be able to have a dreamless sleep.

**_To be continued..._ **

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco. Their suggestions and edits are always very much appreciated. I love feedback and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, including your predictions for future chapters! Stay safe everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

_Arcadia Bay, Oregon_

The sunlight sparkled over the water in Arcadia Bay. No matter how many times Max visited this spot, warm memories of her childhood came back like the rush of a summer’s breeze. How long had it been since she and Chloe had pretended to be pirates on this very hill? It seemed like a lifetime ago. Max tapped her feet and hands in rhythm to the music pumping into her head from the earbuds. Mornings like this were made for hot coffee, cool tunes, and friends. She felt the hand rest on her shoulder from behind and pulled her left earbud out as she turned to face its owner.

“I am legit shocked to actually see you here this early,” Max said through her ear-to-ear smile. It was weird, seeing Chloe here like this. It felt so out of place and yet, at the same time, it felt perfectly natural. She couldn’t really remember why she was meeting Chloe at that moment, but it didn’t matter. Max was always willing to make time for her best friend.

Chloe feigned being appalled at the suggestion. “Well, I guess I’ll just take my truck and go get breakfast on my own then. Wouldn’t want to ruin your picture-perfect image of me,” she said, climbing over the back of the bench and coming to rest on Max’s right side.

Max shook her head, but the smile refused to dissipate. “No, I like it. It’s a good change from the Chloe I know,” she replied, repositioning to allow their eyes to meet. The smile faded as quickly as it came, replaced with a melancholy expression. “I’ve missed you, Chloe.”

“Missed me?” Confusion spread across her friend’s face. “What are you talking about, Max? I’m right here.”

“I know you are, but...” Max began, pausing as she felt the sting in the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry. I regret the choice I had to make every day.” She rested her left elbow on her knee and leaned her face into it, unable to stop the inevitable flood. “I can’t stop asking why I couldn’t bring myself to save you. How could I do that to you?” She gasped for air between sobs. 

_.n… ...c. k…._

Max could feel Chloe’s hand on her back, moving in a comforting, slow up-and-down motion. “Hey, shhhh, it’s ok,” she said. “You did the right thing. It’s like I told you...I accepted my fate. The choice you made doesn’t change what happened between us, or make it any less real.”

_.n..k ..oc. k..c._

Max lifted her head to look back at Chloe, she could feel the tears as they trailed down her face. “It does to me! I’m the one that has to sit there and think about ‘what ifs’ all the time! I’m the one that has to live with it!” Max said, wiping her eyes and continuing. “I would give anything to change what happened that day.”

_kn..k .noc. kn.c._

Chloe placed her hand on Max’s face, using her thumb to help Max clear the sadness way. “You don’t have to. As long as you don’t forget me, I’ll always be with you.” The smile that followed filled Max’s heart with an indescribable warmth and joy. It was like a crack in her very soul had slowly begun to mend.

“I never could, Chloe.” Max said, laughing through the tears. She clasped Chloe’s hand, refusing to let her remove it from her face. “And I will bring you back...I promise.”

Chloe laughed in return. “I bet you will, Max. That’d be hella awesome. But you know what?”

“Hmmm?” Max eagerly anticipated the tidbit of advice that Chloe would surely provide.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK._

Chloe opened her mouth to share what Max hoped would be her innermost thoughts, but when she spoke it was Lukas’ voice. “Max! Are you in there? We gotta go!”

_Beaver Creek, Oregon_

_August 7th, 2017 8:20 am_

Max shot up in bed and her forward momentum was so strong she almost fell to the floor. Grabbing at the mattress, she managed to steady herself. Sunlight poured in through the curtains, highlighting the general wear and tear of the ratty motel room. Her phone was blaring the same indie rock song she thought she had been listening to at that familiar lookout. She grabbed it and turned off the alarm. Shit, 8:20? How did she manage to sleep through twenty minutes of that? Normally she’d wake up within the first five minutes, but obviously she was way more tired than she thought. From outside the room, Lukas’ voice, ever the rude awakening it seemed, came through loud and clear.

“I hope that means you’re up in there!” 

Max did not need to see his face to know exactly what expression it held. 

“Hey, sorry, I slept through my alarm! Can you give me five minutes?” She called as she climbed out of the bed and practically flew into her jeans.

“You’ve got four minutes and fifty-nine seconds! I’ll just...be waiting out here, I guess!”

Through the curtains she could make out his silhouette taking a seat at one of those tacky white plastic lawn chairs she had seen by the curb the night before.

“Yeah, like I’d let you in anyway,” Max said to herself as she got her things together. Running to the bathroom, Max performed some magic to get rid of that unsightly bed head involving water, her hair brush, and gritting her teeth. Performing a quick once-around the room, she triple-checked that she had her phone, charger, wallet, and brush back in her bag. Feeling confident she hadn’t forgotten anything, she walked out the door, checking her watch as she closed it behind her. 3 minutes. Not bad, Max. She walked over to Lukas, who was basking in the morning sun, enjoying the breakfast of champions: cigarettes and coffee.

“Morning Max!” 

Lukas seemed surprisingly cheerful for someone who, less than 12 hours ago, was warning her about impending disaster. He leaned down to pick up a second cup of coffee, everyone’s favorite gas station variety, and held it up for Max.

“Oh yes, thank Christ, I need that,” said Max, yanking the _ICO_ -labeled cup out of his hand and taking a gulp. Char with a hint of acid was the best way to start the day. “Thanks. Perhaps I misjudged you.”

“Oh don’t thank me. The alternative was uh...not pleasant for me.” Lukas said, nonchalantly sipping his coffee followed by a long drag on his cigarette.

Max stood there staring. “Wow, you’re the picture of chivalry. I bet you have to beat women off with a stick.”

“You flatter me, but I try not to use the terms ‘women’ and ‘beat off’ in the same sentence.” 

He took a final drag and rubbed out the butt on the pavement at his feet. “You ready to go?” He asked.

Even though it was incredibly tempting to continue the banter after that last remark, Max decided to let it go. At least, from where she was standing, it now looked like she didn’t have to worry about Lukas “besmirching her honor”. Admittedly, he was starting to grow on her. The uncertainty of where they were going and why was slowly being replaced with excitement as they approached the unknown. 

The promise of Chloe still weighed heavily on her mind. Lukas had yet to elaborate on how it was possible, but Max didn’t want to press the issue. It was clear that they needed to go along with Lukas’ plan for the time being: find the Diaz brothers, get them on board and then...profit? Maybe, at that point, she could get more information on how Chloe was part of the equation. Max took another sip of her coffee. Black and bitter, like her soul, was how 16 year old emo Max would have described it in her journal. “Yeah but, where are we going again?”

“Sean’s brother, Daniel, remember?” Lukas replied. He stood up, leaving his empty coffee cup in the chair. “He lives with his grandparents about 20 minutes from here. They’re not quite within the city limits.” He pulled the rental car keys from his pocket and used the fob to unlock the doors as he and Max walked over.

“Have we thought about how we’re going to get him on our side?” Max asked him as she climbed in.

Lukas started the car. “Uh, no. Listen, full disclosure, I can’t really hear what’s being said when I view alternate timelines. I just see people going through the motions and the deviations they can cause. Like I said, I know there’s a timeline where we manage to convince the kid to come along but…” he trailed off as he started to pull out of the parking lot. 

“Wait, so how did you know what to say to me? That doesn’t make any sense,” Max pointed out. Lukas was either lying or there was more to the story.

“I just had to stall you long enough to not get hit by a car, Max,” Lukas replied as if it was common sense that preventing her death was as mundane as grocery shopping. “That’s a little different than trying to convince two boomers to let a couple strangers take their 10 year old grandson on a road trip.”

Max tilted her head and gave a partial nod. She couldn’t really argue with that. “Fair point. So, do you at the very least have a general _idea_ of what we need to do?”

“Not at all.” he said. “But I _did_ stay at the best Dam Inn in Beaver Creek last night!”

Mid-sip, Max’s eyes burst open and she coughed violently as she tried to clear out the coffee that had taken a detour down her windpipe. Lukas seemed to find his own joke hilarious, and laughed boisterously while Max tried to avert self-asphyxiation. Catching her breath, she rested her face in the palm of her hand. “Oh my God, just shut up and drop me off at the next bus station.”

_102 Evergreen Street_

_Beaver Creek, Oregon_

_August 7th, 2017 8:55 am_

As the car came to a stop, Max took in the view of the house kitty-corner from where they had parked. Bright red shingles and wood panel siding, barf. It looked like something out of one of those awful Hallmark Christmas movies. Like the ones where some successful New York businesswoman goes home for the holidays, meets some useless Joe Schmoe, and decides to give up everything and make a living crafting Christmas ornaments in Fuckberg, USA for the rest of her life. And the icing on the cake: it was still early August. Max avoided picturing the house during the holidays for fear of self-inducing PTSD. 

“Ready to do this?” Lukas asked. He grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the overhead console. As he went to put them on he stopped, his gaze directed past the house to the one next door. “Oh shit, that’s convenient.”

“What?” Max replied, following Lukas’ line of sight to where he was focused. In the backyard of the house next door she could just make out two boys playing in a treehouse. Like a flash of light, she realized it. “Wait, is he one of those two?”

Lukas grinned and his face lit up to match the saccharine house they had parked by. “I think so. This might be easier than we thought,” he said, closing his eyes. He appeared to be deep in thought. Without reopening them, he added. “If we can talk to him directly from the get-go, we might not even have to worry about the grandparents.”

Max bit her lip. “I don’t know...that seems super sketchy. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to try talking to the _adults_ first? Besides, what are we supposed to say? ‘Hey boys I have some candy back there in my car. It’s all yours if you come back with us!’”

“That’s not a bad idea actually, I think I have some in the back seat,” Lukas joked as he made a show of reaching into the back to dig through some imaginary belongings.

“Lukas, I’m being serious!” Max said, starting to get annoyed. “I really don’t think approaching him directly is going to work. He’s just a kid. He has no reason to trust us.”

Lukas had opened his door and was about to step out. “Max, it’ll be fine,” he said. “Just follow my lead and I’ll do my best to get things to play out like they should. If things go south, we can rewind, figure out where it went wrong and do it right the second time. If we only have to rewind once, it should be fine.”

Max sighed and joined Lukas outside of the car. As they passed the red house she noticed a yard sign next to the mailbox advertising a summer barbeque at the Beaver Creek Lutheran Church. It fit right in with the aesthetic. If the house was any more of an example of Trump’s America, it would be adorned with a giant MAGA hat. It made Max just slightly queasy.

Entering the yard of the neighboring house, she could make out the sounds of playful shouting and imaginations run amok. A picture of her and Chloe playing pirates in Chloe’s backyard crossed her mind. It was funny how easy it was at that age to take time for granted, never anticipating how quickly those days could be lost. For Chloe, it was even faster. That was the day that William...shit, don’t think about this now, Max.

“Look out, Superwolf! Mantroid’s death beam is aimed right at our base and our shields are down!”

“I’ll save us, Captain Spirit! I’ll use my Supersonic Howl to divert the beam! AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Max was close enough now to see the boys acting out their superhuman adventure. Despite everything she had been through, everything going on in her life, current craziness included, she couldn’t help but smile at the innocence of the scene playing out before her. The one called _Captain Spirit,_ a blonde-haired boy with a painted-on blue mask, surprisingly well done for a child his age if he had, in fact, put it on himself, noticed her first. Max was never great with kids but she smiled and gave him a small wave which was enthusiastically returned. 

Captain Spirit tapped Superwolf’s arm with the back of his hand. “Look, Superwolf! Ambassadors from Mantroid’s planet have come to surrender! Can we trust them?”

Superwolf turned his gaze to the newcomers and extended his hand, signaling them to stop. “Halt, intruders! State your business with the Spirit Squad!”

Max and Lukas raised their arms, playing along with Superwolf’s request. Max was dumbfounded and didn’t know how to respond. Keeping up on superhero lingo wasn’t exactly part of her daily routine. Thankfully, Lukas saved her the embarrassment.

“We come in peace, Superwolf!” he yelled up to the treehouse. “My name is Timeskipper and this is Rewind!” He motioned to Max. She rolled her eyes. “We’ve travelled a long way to find you and request your aid!” 

Still holding her hands up, Max was shocked at how smoothly this was going. Hot damn, Lukas knew how to talk to kids. She wasn’t sure if that was creepy or endearing. Had _she_ been this easy to manipulate? Max felt like Lukas had, at the very least, proven his power was actually legitimate, but the caveats he kept raising made it seem like he wasn’t as clear on what he was doing as he had initially let on. Perhaps her concerns were misplaced, though, and they would be able to pull this off. After all, it appeared that Captain Spirit was buying the story, at least. Superwolf, however, seemed hesitant. 

Max watched as they turned to each other and spoke at a volume that was inaudible to her. Captain Spirit gave the impression that he was urging his friend on, and the longer they spoke, the less distressed Superwolf seemed. Moments later they were climbing down to meet them at ground level. Max watched them approach and mimicked Lukas in lowering her arms.

Lukas extended his hand to both and shook them in sequence, first Captain Spirit, then Superwolf. Max did the same. Captain Spirit crossed his arms in an ‘X’ shape. He appeared to be deliberately dropping his voice when he spoke. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Timeskipper and Rewind! We always appreciate new heroes joining our team!”

Lukas put his hand on Max’s shoulder and his voice took on a mock-serious tone. “Rewind, I think we need to _secure the base_ to make sure there’s no supervillains around. We can’t have them listening in.”

Max attempted to contort her face to convey an expression she could not say with such impressionable ears nearby: _What the fuck are you talking about?_ She hoped Lukas would catch on that she had literally no idea how to respond to such a statement. Lukas demonstrated his ability to pick up on non-verbal cues by rescuing her.

“Oh, maybe Captain Spirit here can help you!” Lukas motioned to the caped superhero. “I bet he knows all the weak points and how to secure them!”

“I sure do!” said Captain Spirit. “The entire base is my design! But...” he paused, as he looked over at Superwolf, “...will you be ok if I show her around? You can do it if you want.”

Superwolf nodded to Captain Spirit and turned his gaze back to Lukas. “Yeah. I’ll be fine,” he said. 

Max thought the tone of his voice seemed slightly off. _Would_ he be fine? She honestly couldn’t blame him if he didn’t trust her and Lukas. But they had come this far, Max was willing to let Lukas see this through. It gave her a sense of comfort knowing that despite her misgivings about this whole scenario, she had the ability to fix it if something went wrong.

“Come on, I’ll give you a tour!” He grabbed Max’s hand and beckoned for her to follow him. 

“Oh s-sure!” said Max. “I’d love to! I bet your...defenses are...super awesome?” She looked back at Lukas who gave her a wink and thumbs up. It suddenly made sense to her. Superwolf was Daniel. That’s why Lukas wanted to keep Captain Spirit distracted. Now she just had to face the harrowing task of placating a ten year-old boy for however long it took Lukas to gain Daniel’s trust. 

She followed Captain Spirit around the backyard and faded in and out as he explained all of the different imaginary things boys his age thought were cool and exciting. She glanced over at the house and mused on how much more dilapidated it looked compared to the one Daniel resided in. It made her slightly sad, knowing a sweet kid like this was growing up in an environment like that. Still, listening to him ramble on about superheroes and villains in such detail reminded her of the games she and Chloe used to play as kids. She remembered creating super-elaborate backstories like this as well. The warmth she had felt that morning in her dream continued to grow. 

“This is a really cool base you have, Captain Spirit,” said Max. “You built all of this yourself?”

“Well, my dad and Stephen from next door helped a lot, especially with our Sky Fortress!” Captain Spirit said, pointing at the treehouse.

“Oh, your neighbor helped? That was really nice of him,” Max noted. “Is your frie--I mean, Superwolf, from next door too?”

Captain Spirit nodded. “Yeah! He’s the best!” he said. Max could tell by the way he spoke about him that Daniel was a very close friend, the way she and Chloe had been close. “He just moved here to live with his grandparents a few weeks ago. School’s not in right now, so, I’m kind of all he’s got.”

Max knew the specifics of the story already, but at the same time how could she _really_ trust Lukas knew everything that was going on? Maybe Captain Spirit had some insight into Daniel that would help them find a way to convince him to come along.

“He’s all by himself, living with his grandparents?” said Max.

“Yeah his dad…” Captain Spirit trailed off for a moment, “...passed away last year. And his brother...well, he probably wouldn’t want me to say. But yeah, he’s kind of lonely, I think. His grandma and grandpa keep wanting him to meet new kids at their church but he’s told me he doesn’t really want to go to something like that without me. My dad’s not super-religious or anything.”

“I can understand feeling lonely,” Max replied. “I’ve been there before.”

“Well you won’t be lonely anymore if you join the Spirit Squad,” Captain Spirit exclaimed. “Come on, I have to show you one of my favorite parts of our base!”

Captain Spirit led Max over to the pond behind the house. To Max it was just a run-of-the-mill pond filled with disgusting, foul-smelling mud and overgrown with weeds. But she could also understand how a kid like this one could imagine it to be something amazing. Maybe back in the day she and Chloe would have pretended it was the home of the evil swamp pirate who had stolen all their treasure. She laughed quietly to herself as the thought crossed her mind, when the wind carried voices that sounded quite agitated. She glanced back over at Lukas and Daniel, and her jaw dropped.

Daniel was pointing at Lukas. “You’re with Lisbeth, aren’t you?!” he shouted. “She sent you to find me! I’m never going back there!”

“What?” Lukas said, seeming legitimately confused. He was slowly backing away from Daniel. “No, I swear it’s not like that! Just let me explain!”

“NO! YOU’RE LYING!” screamed Daniel. The air around Daniel was vibrating, almost like he was surrounded by heat waves.

“Listen, Daniel, I can help you just give me ano--” said Lukas.

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Daniel yelled as he quickly extended his arm in Lukas’ direction. Before Max could even think, Lukas was sent flying like a ragdoll and crashed to the ground, out of view along the side of the house. She watched in shock as Daniel looked at her and Captain Spirit, then bolted for the house next door. Well, they knew now which one of the brothers had powers at least. Captain Spirit called after Superwolf while Max ran to Lukas’ side.

“Hey, you ok? What the fuck did you do?” she asked as she kneeled down to help him up. He groaned and grabbed his side.

“I said we could help him see his brother and their dad again, he just needed to come with us. But in...superhero talk.” He fixed his askew sunglasses. “Didn’t work, apparently.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Max laughed, but she was trying to downplay her concern for Lukas. She helped him stand up and walked him to the front of the house where they leaned against the wall. “My turn now?”

Lukas paused, closed his eyes, and his head slowly turned from side to side, then up, then down. Reopening them, he nodded as he tried to catch his breath while clutching his side. “Yeah, we’re not getting another shot in this timeline.”

Nodding and extending her hand, Max focused and time froze. As before, it slowly began to crawl and progressively speed up in reverse. From where she stood, she could see Daniel in her peripheral running backwards in the yard. Because Lukas wasn’t affected by this, it would be difficult for Max to gauge how far back she would need to rewind. As that thought crossed her mind, she watched, unable to fully process what was happening, as Lukas left her side and laid back down on the ground, out of view. Moments later he was walking backwards, returning to the car. Releasing time back to it’s flow, she stood there, stunned. The night before, he had been present and aware as she reversed time. Now it seemed like he was affected just like everyone else. What changed? Max didn’t have time to dwell on it. Lukas stopped, looked to his right where she had been and back at where she was currently standing. She motioned for him. 

Lukas ran over to the shade of the wall and removed his sunglasses. “I take it my plan didn’t work?”

“Yeah, no, your plan sucked and ended with you getting a concussion,” Max stated exasperatedly. “What the hell happened? I thought you weren’t affected by my power, but you reversed too!”

A look of confusion crossed Lukas’ face. “Wait, what? That's strange, I thought I wasn’t either…” The confusion was only momentary, as Lukas could not keep a straight face and busted out laughing.

Max could not figure out what the hell was going on. “What’s so funny? This is really concerning!”

“No, it’s just…” Lukas doubled over trying to regain his self control, getting his words out between laughs. “I was just fucking with you Max. That was all me! I just made sure I was out of your line of sight so you wouldn’t see that I didn’t reverse-fly back over to Daniel. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

Not knowing what came over her, Max grabbed Lukas by the shoulder and with more strength than she thought she could conjure, pinned him against the wall. He immediately stopped laughing, but he did not fight back. “Not fucking funny. You want me to help you? I need you to be straight with me. I’m not wasting my powers playing around. If rewinding too much is as serious as you say it is, then don’t fuck with it and act like an adult! Otherwise, I’m gone. Got it?” 

The fear in Lukas’ eyes was palpable. He raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. You’re right, sorry,” he admitted as Max released her grip. Lukas straightened out his shirt and caught his breath. “So anyway I think this time we shou--”

Max pulled out her phone and began tapping it rapidly. “Oh no.” Max said, holding up her index finger. “No, this time we’re doing things my way. I told you before we got out of the car that he had no reason to trust us and I was right, but you didn’t listen to me.” She found the website for Beaver Creek Lutheran Church, swiped through a few pages and skimmed the information that appeared. Nodding to herself, she locked the phone and put it back in her bag before looking back up at Lukas. “If we’re going to work together, I need you to trust _my_ judgment as much as you want me to trust yours, okay? If we can’t trust each other, this isn’t going to work.”

Lukas nodded and placed his hands on his hips. “You’re full of surprises, I’ll give you that. So what’s the plan?”

Max smiled. “Just watch me work.”

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to my beta readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco! I hope you're enjoying the story so far and would love to hear your feedback!


	4. Chapter 4

_102 Evergreen Street_

_Beaver Creek, Oregon_

_August 7th, 2017 8:54 am_

Lukas followed Max as they approached the treehouse for a second time. He paused for a moment and closed his eyes. In his mind’s eye, shimmering beams of golden light swirled around the environment. Faint, almost ghostlike images of Max, Daniel, Captain Spirit, and himself intersected with one another, sometimes breaking away from where they stood but leaving a copy of themselves behind. He could no longer see the timeline where he and Daniel had spoken at length, followed with Daniel, Max and himself returning to the car. Lukas searched for a timeline where Daniel stayed for a prolonged period. That had to be one where the outcome was good. 

Centering in on one particular event, the image became clearer. The golden lights trailed to an image of an elderly couple approaching the fence that began speaking with Max. Captain Spirit and Daniel appeared to be equally engaged in the conversation. The elderly couple walked away, Captain Spirit and Daniel returned to the treehouse, and Lukas and Max returned to the car. Wait, no, this wasn’t right. There was no way this was the correct timeline. Focusing, he tried to push further ahead but a familiar voice rang out and broke his concentration. 

“Halt, intruders! State your business with the Spirit Squad!”

Even though Lukas was aware of what was going on, the whole situation felt incredibly off-putting. Minutes ago, for them at least, he had been standing in the very same spot, hearing the very same words. Now the events were repeating, only this time a different outcome would be achieved. This was power over time that Lukas found difficult to comprehend. For so long he had fought to keep his focus clear, to find the specific timeline where things went the way he wanted them to go. There was always the risk that there would be a misstep and the timeline would be lost. Maybe if he had known Max back then, things would have turned out differently.

Lukas watched as Max crossed her arms in an ‘X’ formation. “Hail, Captain Spirit and Superwolf!” she said, with an air of confidence that floored him. “I’m Rewind, and this is my sidekick, Timeskipper! We’ve come to join your efforts in fighting evil!” Lukas caught a sidelong smirk from Max. 

Daniel and Captain Spirit climbed down from the treehouse and approached the pair. Captain Spirit returned the ‘X’ formation to Max. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Rewind and Timeskipper! We always appreciate new heroes joining our team!”

“We’re ready to battle Mantroid, Captain Spirit! But first, I think we need to consult with the ancient masters! Are any of them around?” Max said, continuing a trend of superhero-speak that she had been seemingly incapable of minutes ago.

Daniel had no trouble deciphering what Max was trying to say, but eyed her with a look of mild suspicion. “Well, Chris’ dad is at work but I can get my grandma and grandpa for you, if you want,” he offered as he pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

“That’d be great, thanks Superwolf!” said Max, not skipping a beat.

Lukas watched as Daniel hit the push-to-talk button on the radio. “Superwolf to Ancient Wolf. Do you copy?”

The radio beeped and Lukas could hear a woman’s voice through the static. “Daniel, I asked you before not to call me that. What is it sweetie?”

Daniel grimaced before he responded. “Sorry, Grandma. There’s a couple of people over here asking to speak to you. They’re in Chris’ backyard.”

“Why can’t they come to the front door?” Daniel’s grandma inquired.

“Grandma, they're here to join the Spirit Squad and they’re right outside by the fence! Jeez!” said Daniel. Lukas was thankful that he was on their side, for now.

The sound of a sliding door grabbed Lukas’ attention and he looked to his right to see an elderly couple walking towards the ragged wooden fence separating the neighbors. In a way, they were downright adorable. Max headed closer to the fence to meet them and Lukas followed. The woman carried a completely warranted look of suspicion towards the two of them. Lukas was not sure what Max had in mind but he was willing to trust her judgment, as she had asked.

Max extended her hand to the woman and gave an encore performance of _Fake Nice_ that had been in it’s opening night less than 24 hours prior at the Dam Inn. “Hi there! I’m Max Price and this is my friend Lukas Graham. We’re the new youth pastors at Beaver Creek Lutheran Church. We were just touring the neighborhood and introducing ourselves to members of the congregation.”

If there was any trace of suspicion in the elderly woman’s face, Lukas could no longer see it. He didn’t know how she’d done it, but Max appeared to have put her mind at ease with those words. 

“Oh well how nice!” she said, taking Max’s hand and motioning to the man beside her. “I’m Claire Reynolds, this is my husband Stephen. I didn’t realize the youth pastor positions had already been filled, that’s wonderful news!”

“Oh we kind of weren’t expecting it ourselves,” replied Max. “We were out on a mission trip, helping build homes for the needy, when Pastor Hill contacted us about the open position. He’s an old friend of the family. We couldn’t refuse!”

Stephen chuckled and joined in the conversation. “Yep, Pastor Hill can be a pretty convincing man. I must say, though, it is so nice to see young people like you helping out others in need. Where was your mission trip?”

Max stalled. Lukas started to feel the anxiety creep in as he realized Max had not come up with a contingency for that question. It couldn’t be helped, he supposed. There was no way she could have predicted what they were going to ask. That was supposed to be _his_ job. They were on the right track, they couldn’t stop now. Lukas had to think of something. As if on demand he remembered a small detail from when he had previously viewed timelines: a faint image of a zippo lighter with a crest had come into view, shifting in and out like a camera struggling to focus on a subject. He could just barely recollect the words etched into it.

“P-Puerto Lobos,” Lukas blurted out. It couldn’t have been less eloquent if he had tried. Surprisingly, though, it didn’t seem to raise any eyebrows and Max turned and gave him a smile as if to say ‘thank you’. Out of the corner of his eye, Lukas could see Daniel was focused entirely on him.

“You don’t say?” said Claire. “What a coincidence! Daniel here, his father, God rest his soul, was _from_ Puerto Lobos. Well, Mexico I’m assuming, right?”

“O-of course!” Max chimed in. “It’s such a beautiful town. We loved the locals and we were sad to leave, but, you know, duty calls.” She giggled. Lukas really wanted to tell her to rein it in a little bit, but they couldn’t drop the façade. 

“Well what are the odds?” Stephen asked, giving them another round of that classic old man chuckle.

“Small world,” said Lukas. He didn’t want a repeat of the pre-rewind incident and opted to measure his words while he let Max take the wheel. She seemed to be doing a bang-up job. If they kept it up this would be a slam dunk.

“Anyway,” Max continued, “Sorry we didn’t swing by the front door first but, we saw your grandson and his friend here having such a good time, we couldn’t help but pop over to join them.” She gave another Spirit Squad Signal to Chris and Daniel, which they eagerly returned. “We wanted to let you know that we’re having a little get-together for the youth group at the church this afternoon at 4:00. We were wondering if Daniel and his friend here would be interested in joining? We’re serving pizza!” 

“Wait, what?” Lukas said, unable to stop himself. If looks could kill, the one Max gave him would have caused him to spontaneously combust. “Oh...right! Pizza and soda! It’s gonna be awesome!” Lukas had apparently said the magic words. Chris gasped and ran up to the fence.

“Oh Mrs. Reynolds, can we go please?” Chris pleaded. “My dad won’t be home until after 5 and I’m sure he’d be ok with me going. I bet it would be a lot of fun for Daniel, too!” Daniel looked at Chris almost like he was confused, but he did not protest as his friend, hands clasped together, begged Claire and Stephen on his behalf.

Claire smiled warmly at the boys. “Well I don’t see a problem with that. I think it would be good for you boys to meet some other kids your own age while learning more about God. I’ll give your father a call, Chris, just to be sure,” Claire said, turning back to Max. “Is there any sort of charge for the food?”

“Not at all!” Max confirmed. “Just drop them off and we’ll be done around 6.”

“Well, that sounds like a plan to me,” said Claire. “We’ll see you there.”

Chris and Daniel high-fived one another, gave one last Spirit Squad Signal to Max for good measure, which she obligingly returned, and climbed back into their treehouse base to continue their superhuman adventures. Claire and Stephen gave some parting words to Lukas and Max before they slowly started walking back to the car. Lukas was floored. Before they began, he was so sure this timeline wouldn’t work out, but, it seemed he had underestimated Max. He couldn’t help but laugh once they were out of earshot.

“My, how devious of you,” he joked, nudging her with his elbow. “I have no idea how we pulled that off, but we did. How did you manage to come up with that shit on the fly?”

“You told me to be observant, remember? Don’t you ever take your own advice?” Max pointed to the yard sign next to the Reynolds’ mailbox and the wheels in Lukas’ head began to turn. “I had a lot of practice paying attention to small details back in Arcadia Bay. It’s not _that_ hard.”

The proverbial lightbulb clicked over Lukas’ head. “So when you were looking at your phone…?”

Max nodded. “I pulled up the church website and saw they had _two_ open youth pastor positions. I figured that was as good an idea as any. Obviously my intuition was on point. Well, that and Chris tipped me off a little about Daniel’s grandparents wanting him to meet other kids.” 

As they reached the car, she paused before entering and looked across the hood at Lukas. “Good save on that mission question, though. Where the hell did that come from?”

Lukas shook his head. “No idea. I just remembered something I had seen in a random timeline and figured we didn’t have anything left to lose at that point. That was just luck, I wouldn’t call it a save. If anything, _you_ saved our asses Max. Thanks.”

“Oh, don’t thank _me_ ,” said Max. “Thank _you_ for being a gentleman and buying pizza for those kids.” She stepped into the car before Lukas could even reply. Instead, he just stood there feeling like he had been slapped in the face until Max’s voice snapped him back to reality. “Are you gonna drive, or what?”

_Beaver Creek Lutheran Church_

_Beaver Creek, Oregon_

_August 7th, 2017 3:57 pm_

Lukas walked through the church parking lot balancing three hot, large pizza boxes in one hand, carrying a 2-liter bottle of soda, napkins, and a bag of plastic cups in the other, to where Max was sitting at a picnic table, next to a small playground. The area felt completely deserted, which made sense considering it was a Monday afternoon. Placing the food on the table, he took in the church grounds. 

From an objective eye, the church itself was quite beautiful. Brick frame, stained glass windows, a tall steeple capped with a copper-roofed, cross-adorned cupola. But Lukas hated churches. They all had that same smell. From the largest cathedrals down to those small chapels you could find in hospitals. Just like the chapel he had sat in for hours upon hours, praying for a solution that never revealed itself. The smell made him nauseous. He could feel his stomach churn just _thinking_ about the odor.

“Mmmmm, that smells _amazing_ ,” said Max, hurtling Lukas back into the present. “I am so hungry. I just realized, I haven’t had anything all day but that gas station coffee and the plate of fries we shared at that diner.”

“I still don’t understand why I needed to buy three pizzas,” said Lukas. “There’s only going to be four of us here.”

“It’s all about keeping up appearances,” Max shared as she opened the top box to grab a slice of pepperoni. “We need to make them think there are going to be a lot of people coming.”

Scoffing, Lukas sat down at the table with her. “Max, they’re like, 10. I think they just care that there’s pizza in general. I hope they’re hungry too because, I’m not sure if you realize this, I didn’t get the mini-fridge package in my rental car.” He took his cigarettes out of his pocket and went to pull one from the carton when he noticed Max was staring at him. “What, I can’t have a smoke?”

“We’re youth pastors now,” she said, matter-of-factly. “We need to set a good example.” Max went back to her pizza slice. 

Lukas made a big show of putting away his cigarettes and sighing like he had just been told he wasn’t getting anything for Christmas. He checked his watch, which had just turned to 4:00 and, like clockwork, a car was pulling into the parking lot. He could make out Claire behind the steering wheel. 

Closing his eyes, Lukas looked ahead. Following the golden lights swirling around the car over to where they sat, events began to unfold. There was no timeline where Daniel went with them. What the fuck were they going to do? Rewinding back almost 8 hours was out of the question. Even if it was possible, could Max take it? The damage it could cause wasn’t worth the risk. If this didn’t work, maybe they’d have to get Sean first and come back for Daniel. But Lukas knew that without Daniel, getting Sean was going to be _much_ more difficult.

“Showtime…” he heard Max say. Lukas watched her place her half-eaten slice of pizza on the lid of the top box and wipe her hands as she got up from the table. Lukas stood up as well to join her in walking over to meet Claire and the boys at the car. Claire rolled down the window while Daniel and Chris scrambled to unbuckle themselves, the siren song of sugary drinks and fatty carbs was calling from mere feet away. 

“Hi there!” Claire greeted them as the boys jumped out of the car and made a beeline for the picnic table. “I was thinking there would be more people here,” she said as she glanced over the otherwise barren church grounds. “I didn’t bring them too early did I?”

“Only a little bit,” Max replied, smiling at Claire. “We’re starting up at 4:30!”

The suspicious look crossed Claire’s face once more. “But back at our house, you said it was at 4:00.”

Max covered her mouth with her hand and Lukas could see her expression was one of shock. She was faking it, he knew it, but god damn if she wasn’t missing her calling. “Oh my gosh, I am _so_ sorry. I totally meant to say 4:30,” Max said, smacking her own forehead. “I’ve been so scatter-brained since we got back because of the jet lag and all that.”

As if on cue, Max’s words appeared to resonate with Claire and any concerns she may have had were abated. “Oh it’s just fine, dear. Do you need me to keep an eye on them for you until everyone else arrives?”

“No, it’s okay,” Max reassured her. “We’d be happy to watch them. It’s just an extra half hour, it’s not a big deal. The end time is 6:00 for sure though! I’m definitely not confused on that one.”

Claire laughed as she moved to put the car in reverse. “I bet! Having to wrangle up all those kids, I can imagine you’ll be counting the minutes until you’re done. Well, if anything happens, Daniel has a cell phone with my number in it.” Max nodded as Claire honked the horn and waved to Chris and Daniel who half-heartedly waved in return, preoccupied with their pizza and soda.

As Claire drove off with Lukas and Max waving good-bye, Max sharply exhaled and Lukas patted her on the back. “I tip my hat to you, Max,” said Lukas. “Or, I would if I had one.” She laughed and they turned to walk back to the boys. Joining them at the table, Lukas finally decided to opt in on some pizza for himself as Max returned to her partially eaten slice. 

“So,” Chris began, trying to swallow a bit between words. “Rewind and Timeskipper, huh?” 

“That’s right,” said Max. “At your service, ready to take on the bad guys!” She finished her pizza and grabbed a napkin. Wiping her hands, she continued. “So how do we officially join the team?”

“Well first, we need to know what your powers are and how you got them,” Chris explained. “Superwolf here can demonstrate!” Chris nudged Daniel, who was still focused on his pizza.

“Huh?” Daniel appeared to have been lost in thought. “Oh uh, I was bitten by a radioactive wolf and after I recovered I was able to run fast and have super-sensitive hearing. I can also move things...with my Supersonic Howl...” he trailed off and went back to eating.

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Max exclaimed in a less than subtle attempt to patronize them. “What about you, Captain Spirit?” she asked, turning her attention to Chris, who was scarfing down his third slice. Maybe Lukas’ $40 tab wouldn’t completely go to waste.

Chris waved his hand and shook his head, still chewing. “Captain Spirit never reveals his origins,” he finally managed to get out through the food. After swallowing, he continued. “Mantroid would use it against him! But he can fly, shoot fireballs, and use force powers to stop bad guys in their tracks!” Lukas was slightly confused as to why Chris was speaking in third person about his superhero persona, but still found the whole thing fucking adorable. Aiden would have gotten along great with Chris and Daniel. Maybe, in another life, they would have been best friends.

“What about you guys?” asked Daniel. “I bet you have some cool superpowers too.”

“Well, ” Max said. “One day I was travelling through a dark forest. I felt so alone and out of place and everywhere I looked there were these sinister eyes, staring at me through the trees. All of a sudden, I met a beautiful sapphire butterfly. It told me that I had the power to change the past! And with a flap of its wings, I was able to rewind time! I could go back and change the way things happened, make things better for people.”

Daniel and Chris stared at her, mouths agape. “Whoa…” they said in unison. 

“I bet that’s super useful,” Daniel added, once again getting that glazed over look suggesting that his mind was elsewhere. The pizza sat there, forgotten. 

Max continued. “It is, but the downside is that I don’t know when I have to use it until it’s too late. Usually, bad stuff has to happen first. But that’s where my friend Timeskipper comes in!” She motioned to Lukas, who was completely unprepared to be put on the spot like that.

Chris and Daniel stared at Lukas, waiting for his origin story. Their eyes felt like laser beams targeting his very soul. “Uh well, ” Lukas said, scratching the back of his head, trying to come up with something equally as cool since Max had already set the bar so damn high. “No fancy animals for this guy. I just got injured and one day I discovered I could close my eyes and see the future...kind of. But together, Rewind and I are unstoppable. I can look ahead so she knows when she has to rewind!”

“What kind of things can you see?” asked Daniel, appearing to become genuinely interested in the conversation at this point. God damn it, this kid. Why couldn’t he just leave it there?

“It depends on how hard I focus,” Lukas replied. “Sometimes I’ll see flashes of things WAY into the future, or even just random objects that don’t make any sense. Those are usually out of my control. But other times if I think with a specific topic in mind. Like, say, how much pizza are you guys going to eat, I can see that _very_ clearly.”

“I bet Daniel eats a whole pizza on his own! He’s such a pig!” Chris laughed. Daniel shoved him playfully.

“Actually, how much pizza _do_ I eat?” said Daniel. Lukas knew that to the kids, they were just playing, but this was in actuality, _very_ real and they were getting dangerously close to either Lukas getting another concussion, or a breakthrough.

Lukas shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. Time isn’t a straight line. There are so many different ways things can happen. Like, maybe in one timeline you eat 2 more slices and then you get sick. In another, you _do_ eat a whole pizza. And in another, you accidentally knock over the boxes and nobody gets anything.”

Chris scoffed. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

Out of the blue, Daniel dropped a bomb. “Is that how you knew about Puerto Lobos?” Lukas had to consciously stop his jaw from dropping. He stole a glance at Max who looked equally taken aback. 

“W-what are you talking about?” Lukas asked, trying to play it cool. “Max and I were there on our mission trip.”

“Oh...” Daniel said, downcast. “That’s where my dad was from. It’s where me and Sean were heading before...before…” He wiped his eyes with his arm. “Nevermind, it’s stupid.”

Max leaned in and put her hand on Daniel’s. “Hey, it’s not stupid. It’s okay to cry,” she said. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Lukas could feel the air changing, but in a good way. He had no need to focus, he knew in his gut they were on the right track. The pieces were moving into place, Lukas just needed to make sure he put Daniel in check, then let him make the next move.

“Daniel,” Chris said, placing his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It’s ok. I think you can talk to them.”

Daniel sighed and shook his head. “No it’s...it’s fine. I was just thinking about Sean and I forgot we were only playing. It’s only been a month but I miss him _so_ much. I thought how awesome it’d be if the Spirit Squad could use our new powers to rescue him, but,” he sighed again. “It’s just make-believe, right?”

“I mean,” Chris began but Daniel shot him a stern look and he stopped himself. Lukas was keenly aware of exactly what was going on: Chris already knew. Everything was now in place. It was now or never.

“What if we could?” Lukas asked. “Rescue him, I mean.” Daniel looked at Lukas, an expression of hope upon his face, quickly replaced with one of skepticism and suspicion.

“He’s in juvie,” Daniel said, averting his gaze again. “I’ll be 25 by the time he gets out.”

“No, Daniel, you missed what I said.” Lucas explained. “What if we really _could_ rescue him? Like, tonight?” Out of the corner of his eye, Lukas could just barely see Max snap her head in his direction. He was getting ahead of himself here. But he also couldn’t ask Max to rewind and forget what he’d just said.

Daniel looked even more confused. “I don’t understand.” he said. 

This was the turning point where Lukas had previously fucked up. He needed Max’s gentle touch now. He nudged his head in Daniel’s general direction, and she subtly nodded to affirm, despite still eyeing Lukas with a look of suspicion. 

“Daniel, don’t get scared,” she said. “But...I think you know as well as us that superpowers _are_ real. It’s kind of like a sixth sense we all share. We’re able to pick each other out of a crowd.”

Ignoring her plea for him to stay calm, Daniel seemed to go into fight-or-flight mode. Chris had not removed his hand from his friend’s shoulder and when Daniel looked to him as if asking for aid, Chris simply nodded and smiled. Lukas could have hugged Chris right then. Despite this, though, Daniel still appeared quite panicked.

“Did Lisbeth send you?!” Daniel cried out, jumping up from his seat and extending his arm. “I’m not going back there!”

Lukas leapt back from the table, preparing for another blast. Max looked genuinely confused, but did not flinch. “Wait, who? What are you talking about?” she said. 

“I don’t believe you!” said Daniel. 

Lukas could almost feel the fear, hopelessness, and anger in his voice. It started to make him second-guess what they were doing. How would he have felt if this had been Aiden and someone else having this conversation? No. He had to remind himself that the stakes were different now.

“Calm down, dude,” said Chris. “I’m here with you. No one can take Captain Spirit and Superwolf alive, especially now that we’ve powered up with pizza!”

“Daniel,” said Max. “I promise you, we came here to find you because we need your help. Well, Lukas says so, at least”

“It’s true,” said Lukas, sitting back down. “It’s a long story. I can tell it to you but, it sounds like you’ve got a bit of a story there yourself. If we’re all superheroes here, we need to be honest with each other. No secrets.”

Daniel’s breathing slowed as he lowered his arm. He seemed to be calming down. Whoever this Lisbeth was, it was clear to Lukas that Daniel was coming to a realization that he and Max were not with her. He breathed in for a moment, then relayed the story of his experiences in a cult church in Haven Point, Nevada. How he had been held against his will and that his brother had fought against all odds to free him. Lukas felt like he had just been hit by a truck. He saw Max wipe her eyes.

“That’s horrible,” she said, doing less than her best to stifle her sniffling. “I’m so happy to see that you made it out of that safely.”

“Yeah, for real,” said Lukas. “But it sounds to me like it’s time for you to repay the favor to Sean. And with Max and I here, we can help you do that.” He smiled at Daniel, trying to relay that he could fully trust them.

There was a momentary silence as Daniel appeared to consider the offer. Lukas knew that, just like with Max, he was asking Daniel to take a leap of faith. This kid had been through some serious trauma, that much was clear. But Lukas knew in his heart that what they were planning was ultimately in his best interests. He could only hope that they were on the cusp of their goal.

“Wait, are you guys saying you actually have _for real_ superpowers?” Daniel asked. Max and Lukas silently nodded. “Prove it.”

Max and Lukas looked at each other. “How would you like us to do that?” Lukas replied. 

He wasn’t sure how they could possibly demonstrate their powers in such a way as to convince him. If Max rewound, Daniel wouldn’t remember, or Lukas would have to prove some kind of outcome that wasn’t plausible to a 10 year old but could otherwise happen. As was par for the course that day, Max came to the rescue.

“Oh that’s easy,” she said. “Ask me anything about you. Things I couldn’t possibly know, since we just met and all. Maybe like, what do you have in your pocket or your favorite song or something.” God damn it, Max was a genius. Within moments the rapid fire round had begun.

“What’s my favorite candy bar?”

“Chock-o-Crisp.”

“Favorite superhero?”

“Hawt Dawg Man.”

“Favorite toy?”

“Trick question, it _was_ Chibi Power Bear and you gave it to Sean.”

“What’s my phone wallpaper?”

“A picture of _Lyla.”_ Max put extra emphasis on the name. Chris snickered and Daniel punched him in the arm. 

“Tell me something that happens in like, 10 seconds.” Daniel paused and turned to Lukas. “Oh wait, that’s your power isn’t it?” Lukas shook his head and looked back to Max.

Max pointed at the intersection nearby. “5 seconds after I tell you this, a car is going to run that stop sign and another car is going to honk at them.”

They all stared at the intersection with rapt anticipation. If someone else had been observing them from a distance, it would have been an incredibly strange sight.

_1...2...3...4...5. HONK._

All of them shared a laugh and turned their attention back to Max. She shrugged and gave Daniel a look as if she was requesting his approval.

“That is so cool!” Daniel exclaimed. “How did you know all that?”

“I didn’t,” said Max. “You told me and then I rewound to give you the correct answer the first time you asked.” 

It was true, Lukas had sat through the entire thing. It seemed like only 30 seconds had passed, but in reality it had been more like 3 minutes. 

“What’s _my_ power?” Daniel asked, as if he was throwing them some kind of curveball.

Max went to respond but Lukas jumped in. “I’ve got this one. You have something like telekinesis. You can move things, big or small, with your mind. And I know this because in another timeline you used it to toss me about 3 yards back from where you were standing.”

“I did?” Daniel said, sounding guilty. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s no problem, buddy,” Lukas replied, not really knowing what had spurred him to use a term of endearment like that. “And, as icing on the cake, I’ve seen you using those powers to help your brother...and bring back your dad.” Checkmate.

“My dad?” Daniel’s gaze shot back to Lukas. “How? I don’t understand.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” said Lukas. “I can explain more on the way but we need to go now.” 

“No, we can’t,” Daniel said. There was a sense of finality in his voice, a wisdom beyond his years. “I can’t just bail on Grandma and Grandpa like that. We’d never make it there.”

Lukas sighed. Fuck, back to square one. They had come so far only to hit another roadblock. He stood up and pulled the cigarettes out. Max could go fuck herself, he needed this now. Right as he went to light up, Daniel’s voice broke the momentary silence.

“But,” he began. Lukas closed the lighter and turned his head. “Sean’s birthday is next Tuesday. They’ll be taking me up to Seattle to visit him. What if we met up there?”

That wasn’t what Lukas wanted to hear. He finished lighting the cigarette and took a long, calming drag. He intended to share his displeasure, that time was not a luxury they had, but Max beat him to the punch.

“That could actually work!” Max said. “I have family up in Seattle. We could go stay with them while we wait for you. I’ll give you my phone number so you can text me upda--”

“No,” Lukas interjected. It seemed to catch Max off-guard. “We don’t have time.”

“What are you talking about?” said Max. “Lukas, it’s barely a week and, sorry Daniel, but Sean isn’t going anywhere. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it is, Max. It’s a really big fucking deal!” He slammed his hands down on the table but remembered it was no longer just he and Max in the picture when he saw Daniel and Chris jump back. “Sorry. It’s just...I want to tell you more but the longer we stall with questions and explanations, the less time we have to get where we need to go.” He considered for a moment while he took another drag, closed his eyes and viewed the timelines again. 

Straining, he focused on the same moment that had driven him to where they were now, and tried to work backwards, which he had always found nearly impossible. Trying a different approach, he worked forward from this current point, looking for a line where they did what Daniel had suggested. It worked, but there were consequences that couldn’t be avoided. He exhaled and turned to Daniel, trying his best to convey a sense of comfort, but feeling he was likely going to fail miserably.

“I guess it can’t be helped. I can’t ask you to just run away from home,” Lukas said. “We’ll meet you up there, Daniel. But we’ll need all the help you can give us. This definitely isn’t going to be easy.” Max gave Lukas a look that said _We need to talk_.

Daniel nodded. “I know. But I’d do anything to get Sean out of there.”

“And Chris,” Lukas turned his attention to the blonde-haired boy. “I need you to swear yourself to secrecy on this, ok? The success of our mission is all on you.”

Chris gave a salute, followed by the Spirit Squad Signal. “You can count on Captain Spirit!”

The rest of the time was whiled away with them hammering out the details of when and where they would meet up. Max and Lukas discussed the logistics of the trip to her parent’s house, and what they would need to continue the journey afterwards. Claire showed up at 6:00 on the dot and Lukas watched while leaning on the hood of his car. Max worked her magic, once more explaining away why Daniel and Chris were the only kids there. He mused on how much focus he had lost in his own ability. Lukas needed Max because he could no longer be certain if his instincts were correct. 

Even with the most careful of calculations, he would never forget the day he realized the golden beams of light coalesced on one single point and there was no stopping it. The sound of the flatline haunted his nightmares. But he knew they couldn’t rewind that far back. He could only hope he was right in the timeline he had seen: himself, Max, Daniel...Sean...in the eye of the storm, and on the other side: the future they all deserved. The chance he had always wanted was finally within his grasp, and he would do whatever it took to make it happen. To make things right.

As Claire’s car disappeared into the sunny summer evening, Lukas continued to watch as Max returned to their own ride. She had really impressed him over the course of the day. He needed to have more confidence in her, but things like that took time. Conversely, he probably needed to grant her the same courtesy. Max leaned against the hood alongside him and crossed her arms.

“So, do you want to tell me exactly how you plan to use him to get his brother out of jail?” Max asked. 

Lukas knew this was coming. He had slipped and been a little too eager in getting Daniel on their side to measure his words.

“Look,” Lukas began. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of how slowly the legal system in this country works. And it’s not like I have those kinds of resources available to me. I think I’ve stressed enough we’re on a tight schedule and now we’ve lost almost a week.” It was cigarette time. Lukas was very much cognizant of his inability to handle stressful conversations without a crutch. “Breaking him out is our only option at this point.”

Max grabbed the cigarette out of his hand and tossed it into the parking lot. “You _told_ me that we wouldn’t be doing anything like that! You won’t tell me why we’re so pressed for time, either!”

“What does it matter how we do it?” Lukas asked. “You feel just as sympathetic to his case as _I_ do. You said it yourself.”

“There is a _huge_ difference between me being sympathetic and wanting to straight up break the law to prove a point!” said Max, clearly not caring who heard at this point despite Lukas motioning to try to make her quiet down. “And not only that, we’re not exactly helping his case if he busts out on month 1 of a 15 year sentence! Plus you want to rope a fucking kid into this! You heard what he said about that cult in Nevada! Hasn’t he been through enough already?”

“Max, we _need_ him or Sean is going nowhere,” Lukas pleaded. “Look, it’s just...the reason we are so pressed for time is because I don’t truly know how much time we have. Before I met you I had a vision. I saw us. I saw Sean and Daniel. And beyond that…” he trailed off, stopping himself. He wasn’t ready to verbally share what he had seen.

Max narrowed her eyes at Lukas. “Beyond what?”

Lukas sighed. “I saw two outcomes in the same place. One where we weren’t there and another where we were. In the first one I saw death...destruction...”

“Like, Arcadia Bay level?” said Max

“Worse,” said Lukas. “If we’re talking like, hurricane categories, this would be off the charts.”

“And in the other one?” Max inquired. “What did you see there?”

Lukas raised his eyes to meet Max’s. “You and Chloe. Daniel and Sean with their dad. Me…” This was the breaking point for him. He couldn’t say it out loud. Putting his hands behind his head, he inhaled sharply, forcing the thought from his mind. “The point is, I know where we need to go. But all four of us need to be there. So I need you to _please_ trust me on this. Because to get Sean out of prison, I’m going to need _your_ help as much as I need Daniel’s.”

Max seemed to consider for a moment. “You’re asking a lot of me, you know that right?”

Lukas nodded. “I’m sorry Max, I wish I could tell you more but...I’m not ready.”

“I get that, I do.” said Max. “But, it’s not your call to make for Daniel. I’ll work with you but if Daniel isn’t up to this, you can’t force him. Got it? We’ll just have to face whatever this is without them.”

Lukas leaned back against the car. “It won’t work. But if I don’t have a choice it’s the best I can ask for at this point, I guess.”

“Guess so,” said Max. “You ready to head out?”

“Seattle, here we come,” Lukas replied, lighting up a well-deserved cigarette.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco! This chapter is obviously much longer than the previous few (and is longer than the next few) but I hope you enjoyed it. Originally I had intended this and chapter 3 to be one chapter but split it early in the writing process to offer a dual POV. Additionally I got some great feedback on chapters 3 and 4 that helped really shape the narrative a little better. Please feel free to leave feedback in the comments! I love to hear from people who have read the story!


	5. Chapter 5

_“You know, that day...in Seattle...the day dad was shot. I think about it every day...and I would give_ anything _to change what happened...but I can't. I'm sorry for my mistakes...I tried my best, I swear…_

_“I'm so proud of you,_ enano _... just like Dad would be... we both learned a lot together... but you can make your own rules now._

_“If we surrender, they_ will _separate us, Daniel. And if that happens, promise me that...you will always do the right thing, okay? Don't waste your power...be smart...like you already are._

_“Whatever happens...always remember that you’re Daniel Diaz..._

_“You're my brother and I love you._

_“It's gonna be alright. Promise._

_“Daniel, you're not a little wolf anymore...never forget who you are! Never…”_

_Interstate 5_

_Near Seattle, Washington_

_August 15th, 2017 4:10pm_

“Sweetie, are you awake? We’ve only got a few miles to go.” Daniel turned down the song as his grandmother’s voice rose above the music. His grandparents had never been fans of listening to the radio in the car, so the pre-approved music on his phone was the only thing that kept him from dying of boredom on long drives. It was hard getting used to some of Grandma’s rules, but he was happy just to be safe and in a warm bed every night. He was actually surprised he was even allowed to still have a phone. Grandma and Grandpa had been incredibly paranoid ever since they had found out the “youth pastors” weren’t actually youth pastors at all. 

For hours after getting home from church that weekend they had sat as a family in the kitchen, Grandma and Grandpa grilling Daniel. They asked if Max and Lukas were connected with Lisbeth, if Daniel was okay or if he was hiding something he felt like couldn’t tell them. Daniel found the sense of guilt he felt for lying to them overwhelming, but his desire to help his brother far outweighed his need to be honest with his grandparents. 

Daniel was in the back seat, leaning against the window. Watching the Seattle cityscape roll by, he became lost in thought. A little over a month ago, he had been sitting in a car with Sean at the Arizona-Mexico border. They had come so far together, but in the end both he and Sean had realized: they weren’t bad people, and they couldn’t keep trying to outrun their problems. Daniel could still feel the sobs welling up inside him whenever he thought about Sean’s last words to him before they had been separated. Daniel knew he couldn’t cry now, though. He needed to be strong for Sean today. It was the first time they would be seeing each other since the border. And it was Sean’s birthday.

Daniel’s phone buzzed in his lap. He knew before he even looked that it was Max. Sean couldn’t text him, Mom had his number, but he hadn’t heard from her yet, and Chris lived next door and didn’t have a cell phone of his own. He unlocked it to read and respond to the text.

_Lukas and I are parked 2 blocks away. What time do you think?_

_like 15 minutes maybe,_ Daniel texted back. 

He didn’t really want to think about Max and Lukas right now, but he liked it when she checked in on him. Max was super nice. The way she listened to him talk about everything that had happened in Nevada, how she seemed to really care, it felt like he was talking to Sean or...Dad again. 

Daniel still wasn’t sure about Lukas. He seemed okay but there was something about the guy that bothered him. He’d told Daniel that he could see his dad again, that they could help Sean. But he still didn’t know how they were going to make the plan work. Max seemed to trust him, he just hoped everything Lukas had said wasn’t a lie. After everything he’d gone through, Daniel couldn’t take being lied to anymore.

Three dots popped up under his most recent message and stayed there for a while. He glanced back out the window as memories of the same landscape slowly started coming back to him. It had been almost a year since he had seen these buildings and streets. For most people, returning “home” would bring with it smiles and happy memories. For Daniel, though, it just created a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt another buzz and looked back at his phone.

_We can meet you after you’ve talked to Sean. Remember what we talked about ok? Don’t worry about what Lukas thinks. If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to...just let me know._

_k,_ was all he wrote before hitting 'Send'.

Daniel knew exactly what Max was talking about. The Sunday prior, Daniel had faked being sick to get out of going to church so he could FaceTime with Max and Lukas without his grandparents around. They had talked about his upcoming visit with Sean and the gift Daniel had bought him (a new sketchbook), followed by random small talk. But the moment finally came when Daniel asked the question that had been burning in the back of his mind.

“Guys, how are we gonna help Sean?” Daniel asked the image on the screen, interrupting Lukas talking about some amazing burger he’d had in Seattle. Lukas and Max shared a glance, then Max sighed.

“Daniel, before we tell you what the plan is,” Max said. “I want you to know that Lukas and I have talked about this a lot. Like, a whole lot.”

“Sure,” Daniel replied. “But what is it you’re talking about?”

Daniel watched Max turn to Lukas, who proceeded to take the phone and fill the screen. “Look, there’s some crazy stuff about to happen. Stuff that only superheroes like us can stop. But I don’t feel right taking you on some big superhero mission without your brother.”

“But Sean doesn’t have any powers, it’s just me,” said Daniel. Despite this, he knew that he had cried himself to sleep most nights thinking about those same powers being the thing that had gotten him and Sean into that whole mess in the first place. 

Lukas nodded. “I know, man. But you’re a smart guy. You know, what happened to your brother, it wasn’t right.”

“He was just trying to protect me. He thought it was the best thing to do,” Daniel shared. 

“Yep, I hear you. And you might be too young to understand, but as much as _we_ want to find the best way to help your brother, the _best_ way is also the longest,” said Lukas. “And we don’t have that much time.”

“You mean like getting Sean a lawyer?” asked Daniel. He wasn’t really clear on all the details, but he remembered Grandma and Grandpa talking about the terrible defender or someone that Sean had with him in court. They had talked about how they wished they’d had more money to help him. “Those cost a lot though, right?”

Lukas chuckled. “Jeez, you are so sharp, but, yeah. A lot of money. And getting one to help your brother, I mean we’re talking at _least_ a couple years if we’re lucky. And even after that there’s no guarantee they could do anything.”

Daniel could tell Lukas was avoiding answering the question. “Ok I get it,” he said, trying to not sound annoyed. He knew that Sean hated when he talked back like that. “Just tell me what you want to do…”

The car slowed to a stop. Daniel returned to the present and looked out the window. An imposing building that seemed to drain Daniel of all hope just by its presence filled his field of view. A sign by the road read, “King County Juvenile Detention.” He almost couldn’t take it, knowing this is where his brother was being held. This was not the life that Sean deserved, not after everything he had done for Daniel. Being here was just making Daniel feel more guilty by the minute. 

“Are you ready to go, sweetie?” Grandma asked, turning to face Daniel in the back. He nodded and unbuckled his belt. “I bet you’re so excited to see your brother and give him his present!”

“Oh, right!” Daniel had almost forgotten. He grabbed the gift-wrapped sketchbook next to his backpack and hopped out of the car. Maybe seeing Sean’s face when he opened his present would help him deal with the guilt, just a little bit. Knowing that he was able to do _something_ nice for his brother, the person who had put his life on the line for Daniel, made him feel happy. And it wasn't very often that Daniel felt that way these days.

As they walked into the visitor’s entrance, they were stopped by a guard who pointed at the sketchbook. “No gifts. Sorry, little buddy.”

“But it’s for my brother,” said Daniel, his heart sinking with every second. “It’s his birthday today.”

The guard stood firm and shook his head. “It’s against the rules. You can mail order him something with the catalog on our website.”

Sadness mixed with anger in Daniel’s heart. This man represented everything he and Sean had to put up with just trying to find a normal life again. Expecting them to just play by the “rules” when it always seemed like the rules were there to hold him and his brother back. He couldn’t deal with this. His frustration from the past ten months was ready to explode out of him like a volcano, and if it meant he would blow the jail up in the process, he didn’t care. He was well past the point of caring.

“I don’t want to give him some stupid piece of crap from your website!” said Daniel. “I want to give him the gift _I_ bought for him!”

“Daniel, please be more respectful,” Grandma chimed in. He ignored her.

“I understand, buddy,” said the guard. “But its for safety and security. I’m sure what you got him is fine, but we have to be careful.”

“I’m not your buddy,” Daniel snapped. “And I’m giving my brother his gift.”

Grandma stepped in and apologized to the guard as she reached to gently take the sketchbook out of Daniel’s hand. “I’m sorry Daniel, it must have slipped my mind. We’ll hang onto it for you ok? I’ll have your grandfather put it back in the car for now.” 

As Grandpa returned to the car, Daniel felt like his one ray of happiness was beginning to fade away, replaced by sheer determination to follow through with what he, Max, and Lukas had discussed.

Once Grandpa had rejoined the group, the guard escorted the three of them into the visiting room. There were no pictures or decorations on the ugly, yellow walls. The lighting was so harsh, Daniel figured it was the last possible place anyone would want to celebrate a birthday. A single table with 4 chairs--3 on 1 side, 1 on the other--stood in the center of the room. Laser-focused on the table was a wall-mounted camera with a red flashing light. In another life, it felt like at least, Daniel had taken out similar cameras in a failed attempt at robbery. A failure that had left his brother with one eye and himself in a cult.

Grandma and Grandpa took a seat, but Daniel could not. His hands were shaking. The door opposite the one they had entered opened. Daniel held his breath. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, there stood his brother. Sporting a little extra stubble on his face and a shaved head, he otherwise _looked_ the same, eyepatch and all. But in just a month’s time he appeared to be carrying so much more weight on his shoulders. Daniel couldn’t control his emotions anymore. He swore he wouldn’t cry for Sean on his birthday but the moment he saw his brother, the floodgates opened.

“Sean!” Daniel yelled, running to his brother and latching onto him before he’d even managed to walk two steps into the room.

With his face buried in Sean’s midsection, he couldn’t see his brother’s reaction, but he could tell by how Sean was breathing that he was crying too. Knowing that Sean was just as happy to see him, that he’d never be judged by his brother, he allowed himself to let the tears flow freely.

“Hey, _enano_ ,” Sean managed to whisper.

"I'm sorry. They wouldn't let me give you your gift…" Daniel confessed.

"It's ok. Getting to see you is the best birthday present I could have asked for."

Daniel could have held on forever, content to stay in that moment where everything was ok and nothing could hurt either of them. But he did remember Grandma telling him that he wasn’t supposed to hug for too long, and released Sean from his iron grip. He smiled up at Sean and despite all that weight on his shoulders, for a brief moment, they were back on the road in the forest, Sean laughing as Daniel pretended to be a zombie trying to eat him.

Taking Sean’s hand, Daniel walked him over to the table. Grandma and Grandpa hugged Sean, wishing him a Happy Birthday. They sat around the table chatting for a while.  
  
Daniel shared stories of his adventures with Chris, Grandma asked for the millionth time if Sean was doing ok, Grandpa somehow found a way to relate the current topic to his time working for the Beaver Creek Fire Department and went off on a tangent Grandma had to cut short.  
  
Through it all, Sean almost seemed to be like his old self, and that made Daniel feel even more guilty. Because when this hour was over, they would be separated again. Sean would go back to being alone, carrying all that weight again, while Daniel got to walk free. 

He couldn’t take this anymore. Lukas’ words echoed in his mind: this wasn’t right. Sean had done _nothing_ but try to keep Daniel safe. Yeah, the whole robbery thing happened but Daniel knew that if he had just _listened_ to Sean that day, his brother would still have both eyes.

“Sean,” said Daniel, interrupting his grandmother. “I forgot to tell you something SUPER important. But, it’s superhero stuff.”

Sean tilted his head, clearly confused. “Ok, what do you mean?”

Daniel knew he had to be careful to not let their grandparents in on the real topic of discussion. “So Superwolf and Captain Spirit have some new allies.”

“Oh yeah?” Sean replied. “Tell me about them!”

“Well there’s Rewind, she’s a girl,” Daniel began.

“Ooooh a girl,” Sean interrupted. “Do you have a crush on her?”

“Shut up!” Daniel snapped. Inside, he was laughing but this was so important, he needed to stay on track. Grandma and Grandpa, thankfully, appeared to have zoned out and were having their own conversation. “The other one is Timeskipper. He and Rewind work together. Rewind can change the past and Timeskipper can see the future!”

“That’s cool,” Sean said. “I can see how that could be pretty useful.”

Daniel knew Sean thought he was only playing. He prayed the next part would make sense. “Well, Captain Spirit had to stay on his home planet to fight Mantroid but Superwolf, Timeskipper, and Rewind decided to join forces to save Superwolf’s brother the Silver Runner.”

A sense of recognition slowly crept over Sean’s face. Daniel grinned. Yes! He’d done it. “There’s more, too. Timeskipper told Superwolf he’d seen the future...and he saw Superwolf and Silver Runner free! They were back with their father again!”

“Daniel,” said Sean. “These--Timeskipper and Rewind--where are they now?”

“The city of the ivory spire,” Daniel replied. “And Superwolf has been practicing. He knows how to help them wi-”

“No, _enano_ ,” Sean stopped him. “Silver Runner didn’t do everything he could to stop the bad guys from defeating Superwolf, just to have him end up doing the wrong thing in the end.”

“But Sean,” Daniel begged. Why wouldn’t Sean just listen to him? Didn’t he trust him?

“I said ‘no’, Daniel,” said Sean, keeping his voice down, but remaining firm. “Superwolf needs to forget about these two. They sound like…like supervillains to me. If they were really Superwolf’s allies, they wouldn’t try to talk him into doing something bad. Silver Runner and Superwolf are safe the way things are. It needs to stay that way. Superwolf _shouldn’t waste his power_ and _remember who he is_.”

Daniel backed down. The wolf inside him was pushed into submission, cowering in a corner. He _was_ a little wolf, despite what Sean had told him that day at the border. He didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought as a guard entered telling them their time was up. Grandma and Grandpa said their goodbyes to Sean. Daniel embraced his brother once more.

“I love you, _enano_ ,” Sean said, resting his free hand on his brother’s head. “Remember what I said, alright?” He leaned in and whispered. “I’ll be ok.”

“I love you too, Sean,” Daniel replied. “And I will.”

Daniel’s heart broke as he watched Sean get escorted back into the depths of the prison. Alone. The sadness slowly transformed into anger. The wolf inside him began to stalk back and forth. As they walked back to the car, the thoughts kept running through his mind over and over.

_It’s_ my _fault Sean is in here._

_This isn’t fair. Sean was just trying to take care of me._

_I just want to go back to the life that we had before all of this._

_I_ will _go back to the life we had._

Once they were back in the car, Daniel grabbed his phone and texted Max while Grandma and Grandpa discussed stopping for dinner before heading out on the road.

_Going to eat. See you in a few. Wait for me._

Three dots.

_Ok. You sure?_

_Yes._

“Daniel, sweetie, are you ok with some fried chicken for dinner?” Grandma asked as Grandpa pulled out of the parking lot.

“Yeah...yeah that sounds great…” Daniel responded absent-mindedly. He was already trying to figure out how he was going to break away from his grandparents. He hadn’t been lying to Sean when he said Superwolf had been practicing. Nightly, Daniel was getting better at being more precise with his power. Being able to make small adjustments to things was becoming much easier. Something like opening a lock without blowing out a whole door would be insanely simple for him now. 

Meanwhile, the wheels in his brain were turning, trying to come up with something he could do to distract Grandma and Grandpa. Wait, that was it! Wheels! He had a plan.

The car pulled into the Aurora Creek Fried Chicken parking lot. Moving with purpose, but as fast as possible, he began gathering up his loose items and placed them in his backpack, the same one that had once belonged to his brother. Knowing full well what he might be attempting, he had grabbed some of Sean’s old clothing that had been released back to their grandparents after Sean had been sent to prison. Daniel tried his best to work with what little space he had in the bag around the bulky clothing. As he went to zip the bag, he saw the wrapped-up sketchbook out of the corner of his eye, and added it to the pile. Following Grandma and Grandpa into the restaurant, he knew they wouldn’t question the bag. It had been like a security blanket for him since he’d moved in, and he always kept it close by. His grandparents were ordering dinner. It was time.

“Grandma, I’m gonna run to the bathroom really quick ok?” 

“Alright,” she replied. “Just grab a table for us when you get back out, please.”

“Sure.” Daniel walked around the corner and down the hall leading to the bathroom. He stopped and turned back. The guilt continued to grow in the pit of his stomach, but he had to keep telling himself that he’d only known Grandma and Grandpa for less than a year. Sean was his entire life, and he couldn’t just leave him behind. Looking through the large windows of the restaurant, he could just make out the car. It was a pretty fair distance, but he could do it, he had never been more sure of his abilities. Extending his arm and focusing as hard as he could, the pressure of the air around him began to increase, and the itchy sensation that always came with him using his powers became more pronounced.

A sound like a gunshot filled the air as a tire on his grandparents car popped and went completely flat. He heard Grandpa swear and saw both him and Grandma run straight out the door. This was it. Daniel bolted for the door on the opposite side of the restaurant. He stopped briefly to look back, taking one last look at his grandparents, for now.

_I’m sorry...thank you for everything._

Pulling out his phone, he mapped out how to get back to the prison from where he was. It was only seven blocks. Texting Max where to meet him, he started to sprint down the street. Daniel had never been a runner like Sean, but an undeniable energy seemed to fill his very soul. He was going to be the hero of the story. And Sean would forgive him when they were both free and with dad again. He’d have to.

Panting, sweating, his heart racing, the wolf inside him let out a thunderous howl. One more block and he was there. He stopped by a dumpster, and typed a goodbye message to Grandma and Grandpa on his phone. Determined as he was, Daniel was still grateful to them for taking him in. But Sean needed him, and he couldn’t ignore that any longer. Hesitating, he stopped typing mid-sentence. He was safe with his grandparents. No more hopping from place to place, no more wondering when his next meal was going to come. In Beaver Creek he had Chris and his video games. Daniel knew his grandparents _trusted_ him, the phone in his hands was proof of that. And yet here he was, using it to throw in their face how much that obviously didn't matter to him at all. Switching to his text message app, he started to type a message to Max that he had changed his mind. Pausing again, he started to pace, almost screaming at himself for not being able to make a decision. Sean's face kept flashing through his mind. The sadness, the weight on his shoulders, it was so incredibly unfair. Everything Daniel had, he knew it meant nothing if Sean wasn't with him. He could hear the wolf inside him, the howl drowning out all other noise. Reopening the notepad app, he finished typing the message:

_Grandma and Grandpa,_

_I’m sorry for leaving you like I did. If I’d told you what I wanted to do you would try to stop me. Sean needs me. I can't ever be happy as long as he's in prison just for protecting me. Please don't come looking for us. I love you. I'm sorry. Please don't hate me._

Locking the phone, he tossed it in the dumpster. He learned a long time ago that it would only be used to help find him if he held onto it. Coming around a corner, he could see two familiar figures waiting for him at the end of the block. He tried his best to look confident, but he could tell from the looks on their faces that it wasn’t convincing.

“Are you ok, man?” Lukas asked, leaning down and putting his hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I just...” Daniel trailed off for a moment. “I feel bad about lying to my grandparents like that. But I also love my brother, and that’s more important right now.”

“I still think this is a bad idea,” said Max. She seemed to be constantly checking over her shoulder, like she was expecting the police to be hiding behind every streetlight and down every alley. “Daniel, we can figure something else out. Not leave your grandparents behind li--”

“No!” Daniel said. “You weren’t there today! Lukas is right. This isn’t fair. Sean is _my_ brother and I can’t stand seeing him in there. He spent all that time protecting me, just to wind up in a place like that!”

“Max,” said Lukas, moving back to her side. “Remember when I told you that people like us have to think about the greater good?”

“Yeah, you also said that people like us don’t exist to right all the wrongs of the world,” she replied. “Wouldn’t this fall into that category?”

“Technically, yes,” Lukas said, also glancing around as if to check no one was listening in. “But this ties into my vision so this really _is_ about the greater good.” 

***

They waited for the cover of darkness. Lukas motioned for Max and Daniel to follow him and they complied. Daniel could see the silhouette of the detention center contrasted against the light pollution over the city. The closer they got, the more the building seemed to loom over them like some kind of supervillain's fortress. They had gone over the plan multiple times. Now they just had to put it into action. They stopped alongside the outer concrete wall that acted as a barrier between the prison facilities and the outside world. About 50 feet from where they stood was a gate meant for cars coming and going. Security cameras were mounted on both sides.

“You know what to do, buddy,” Daniel heard Lukas whisper to him. “Let’s go get your brother.”

The security cameras quietly exploded in a shower of sparks. The gate opened at a gentle, measured pace. In the newly created portal stood Superwolf, flanked on either side with his new allies: Timeskipper and Rewind. Their mission: rescue Silver Runner. The wolf inside Daniel began growling viciously.

He was _not_ a little wolf anymore. And he was making his own rules now.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my beta readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome and el_bracco. This honestly was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, which was funny because I did not feel confident in writing a Daniel POV at all. Let me know what you think! Are you excited to know what happens next? I love seeing comments from people who enjoyed the story!


	6. Chapter 6

_ King County Juvenile Detention _

_ Seattle, Washington _

_ August 15th, 2017, 8:00am _

Sean stared at the breakfast in front of him: the cold scrambled eggs with unbuttered toast and a cup of black coffee. He didn’t even think it was possible, but somehow this shitty meal was capable of making him even  _ more _ miserable than he already was. He had just turned 17. On this day in any year prior, his dad would have made him pancakes or even taken him out to eat. Daniel would have been there too, and even if Sean only tolerated his presence back then, he wouldn’t trade those memories for anything now. 

At least today he would finally get to see Daniel again. It had been a little over a month since they had surrendered, but it might as well have been 10 years. For an entire hour, Sean would get to experience a small taste of normalcy. He sipped his coffee-flavored water and glanced around the cafeteria, taking in the garbage furniture, buzzing fluorescent lights, and persistent sea of orange that never failed to remind him where he was. He hadn’t been in juvie long, only a few weeks had passed since his “hearing”, but knowing that he would get to see Daniel on a semi-regular basis meant he would only have to count the days until his next visit, rather than the end of his sentence. Fifteen years was a long fucking time, and it pissed Sean off to think that people had the nerve to tell him he’d gotten off easy.

Taking a few bites of the eggs, he felt his stomach churn. It was not an unfamiliar sensation to him after a month of prison food. He put down his fork and got up to leave the table. He wasn’t hungry and he really hadn’t been for a while. Sean knew he was losing weight, he just didn’t care. Food was only fuel for him and he didn’t need much to get through the day. 

It was free time for the next hour, so Sean decided to head out and get some fresh air. Walking through the cell block, he kept his eye forward, not catching the gaze of the other inmates. He had heard stories that juvie was worse than adult prison, and it was proving to be true. He’d already seen 3 fights and been personally threatened in the showers. He clutched the soap a little tighter in his hands after that. Sean had quickly learned to stay quiet and keep his head down, and he was doing his best to become completely invisible.

Sitting on top of a table in the workout yard, Sean gazed up at the sky. It was a surprisingly clear summer day in Seattle, the sunlight reflecting off the spires of metal and glass that he could just barely make out over a wall that was forever impossible to scale. Like that fucking border wall. Sean smirked, remembering the satisfaction he had felt watching Daniel tear that motherfucker a new one. But unlike that wall, which was meant to keep people out, this one existed solely to keep him in, and he hated it. The other inmates seemed to be enjoying the pleasant weather, but fuck, it could have been raining and Sean would have felt exactly the same. 

In another life he would have broken out his sketchbook, taken in the tops of the skyscrapers he could see from this vantage point, and put the mental image to paper. But he didn’t have one anymore. It had been confiscated as evidence in his trial. He could get pencils and paper but it just wasn’t the same as holding the book in his hands. Tiring of the view and noticing a trio of inmates were eyeing him sitting by himself, Sean returned to his cell, where he normally spent the majority of any given day wallowing in self-pity. Laying on his cot, he stared at the ceiling. It was early enough, and his cellmate was in solitary for the next three days. He could actually  _ sleep  _ some more and still be awake in time for Daniel’s visit. 

It seemed like he’d only had his eye closed for 30 seconds when a clunking sound roused Sean. It was the CO running their baton along the bars of Sean’s open cell. 

“Time to wake up sunshine. Your guests are here,” he said. Sean knew this CO and he had always been firm but fair. Sean figured he took pity on him because of his case. Sean hated being pitied. He made his choice to be there. He was in control.

Sitting up, Sean could see the clock on the cell block wall and realized he had dozed off for almost 4 hours. Wanting to freshen up as best he could, he walked over to the sink to quickly rinse his face before heading out.

“First visit?” said the CO.

“Yeah. My brother and grandparents,” said Sean.

“Make the most of these when you get them. It’ll make the time here go by faster.”

Heading into the narrow hallway that led to the visitation room, Sean wished that he could freeze the next hour and stay within it forever.

* * *

_ King County Juvenile Detention _

_ Seattle, Washington _

_ August 15th, 2017, 10:12pm _

The moonlight shone in through the windows of the cell block. Sean tossed and turned, unable to calm his mind enough to sleep after his visit with Daniel. They hadn’t said goodbye to each other on the best note and the conversation kept replaying in his mind. Something about new friends and trying to break him out of prison? Daniel had made his words cryptic and comic book-like, so Claire and Stephen wouldn’t understand. Sean had hit the brakes on that shit so fast. But he felt guilty for losing his temper, even just a little bit, with his brother after not seeing him for a month. 

Sean took a few deep breaths and tried to quiet his thoughts. The nap he’d so effortlessly managed earlier in the day was a miracle. For the past few weeks it had been the same nightly struggle but tonight in particular was unbearably difficult. If he let his mind wander too much it made the feelings of absolute fucking hopelessness even more apparent. Trying to think about something pleasant, to remove him from the events of the day, he thought about Finn cutting his hair at the campfire that one night. He saw himself in the mirror, the faux-hawk actually made him smile. It had been the first time he’d gone out of his comfort zone with his hair. But when he turned to face Finn, he was wearing an apron and baking a cake. The imagery jarringly brought him back to a sense of alertness. Fuck, why couldn’t he just drift off without seeing all this weird lucid dream shit? He sighed as he laid there, trying to let his mind drift off for some much needed rest, only this time it took him to a much darker place.

He was back in the car at the border, Daniel at his side. The police had them cornered and they had to make a choice: break through the blockade, or surrender.

_ “So...how does the story of the wolf brothers end?” _ Daniel had asked him.

The question broke him. He knew before he had even pulled the keys from the ignition that the right thing to do was give up. There was no telling what would happen if they tried to push through, and he couldn’t force Daniel to hurt people just so they could be free. He would put his own life on the line for his brother, just like their father had, albeit unwittingly, put his life on the line for them.

“ _ I...I think it ends right here…” _

They stepped out of the car, hands above their heads, and walked closer to the blockade as the police closed ranks around them. Kneeling to the ground, Sean went to say something to Daniel, but time seemed to stop when he realized he was no longer there. Looking back at the blockade, the environment completely changed. He was not in the desert, but in a cavernous room that appeared to be composed entirely of ice. This wasn’t what had happened. This had to be a dream, but it felt so undeniably real, right down to the space he was in becoming so cold he had to consciously stop himself from shivering. The police had disappeared, it was just Sean. Straight ahead of him was a small sphere of pure light, emanating some kind of energy. As he stood up and moved closer to the sphere, silhouettes of three people began to appear, one in each cardinal direction, surrounding it, save the one Sean was approaching it from.

Reaching the sphere, Sean realized the person standing opposite him was Daniel. His brother looked the same but also somehow older, stronger. He tried to make out the people to his left and right, but their features were unclear. Their hands were extended towards the sphere, but not physically touching it. Turning back to his brother, he noticed Daniel was smiling at him.

“Daniel, what is this?”

“We’re going to see dad again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our new friends are here to help us. It’s ok, Sean. I’ll take care of you from now on.”

Sean looked back to the other figures. A guy and girl, from what he could tell. He strained, knowing full well that trying too hard to focus with one eye always caused him to get a migraine. Slowly, the facial features started to become clear. Sean started to hear voices, and as their words began to register in his brain, the faces lost focus once more, replaced by the light of the moon shining into his cell. 

“Jesus, do you know how hard it’s going to be for me to rewind all this?” A woman’s voice, but there weren’t any women COs here, and definitely not any inmates.

“Relax, it’ll be like it never happened.” A guy's voice, one he didn’t recognize.

“That’s not how it works, Lukas, how many times do I have to tell you?” 

“Did you get that camera back there? I got distracted watching for the guard.” 

“Yeah, I took out every one you asked for.” Shit. That was Daniel.

For a moment, he was sure he was still dreaming, until he heard Daniel’s voice again. Sean bolted upright in his bed and, with the aid of the moonlight, he could just barely see three figures standing right outside his cell door as his eye adjusted.

“Sean!” Daniel whispered, clearly unable to contain his excitement.

Sean was ready to rage. Rising from his cot he rushed over to the cell door and grabbed onto the bars. To Daniel’s left was a redheaded twenty-something girl only slightly shorter than Sean, dressed like she was going out for coffee. To Daniel’s right stood a guy of similar age to the redhead, a few inches taller than Sean. With an industrial bar in his left ear, over-styled bedhead, name-brand jeans and an open zip-up hoodie over a t-shirt, he was the spitting image of a college douchebag. 

“Daniel, what the fuck are you doing?” Sean hissed. 

Sean didn’t want Daniel to think he was angry only at him. He definitely  _ was  _ angry at him, to a degree, but Daniel was just a kid. No, the people next to his brother were responsible for this. How could anyone think talking a ten year-old kid into breaking a felon out of prison was an even remotely smart idea? And how the fuck did they know about Daniel?

“This isn’t right,” said Daniel. “You don’t belong here!”

“Neither do you,  _ enano _ ,” Sean replied. He looked at Daniel’s companions. “And who the hell do you think you guys are? What do you want with my brother?”

The guy spoke first, holding up his hands. “Hey, whoa, this was entirely Daniel’s decision. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t even  _ be _ here.”

“You suggested it,” the girl corrected him.

“Fair, but I would have been fine with it if he had said no,” he said. 

“You think it’s smart to actually put a kid in charge of calling the shots on shit like this?” said Sean. “He’s 10! He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into!”

“Yes, I  _ do _ , Sean,” said Daniel. 

The tone in his voice was starting to piss Sean off. What the fuck was the point of him being here, of everything he did, if this was what he got in return?

“Did you not listen to me at all today? I told you not to do this shit! I told you to remember who you were! This isn’t the Daniel I know!”

“I’m not a kid anymore! Nobody is controlling me or telling me what to do! You told me to make my own rules, and  _ that’s _ what I’m doing.”

“This isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

“Anyway,” the guy interrupted, “we’re wasting time. Daniel, get him out of there.”

Sean watched as Daniel prepared to use his power, but like a bullet Sean’s hand shot through the bars and grabbed Daniel’s arm. He was not going to let him do this. Everything they went through, everything Sean sacrificed so Daniel could be safe, was in peril. Sean could feel the panic rising in every fiber of his being.

“No, don’t!” Sean said. He turned to the guy again. “Listen dickwad--”

“Lukas, actually, but whatever I guess,” he interrupted.

“Like I give a fuck,  _ Lukas _ ,” Sean sneered. “Daniel’s a good kid. Don’t drag him into this. What do you want from him? What do you want from me? Are you with Lisbeth? Is that fucking psycho after my brother?”

The girl stepped closed to the bars. “Sean, I swear, we’re not with them. And Lukas...God I can’t believe I’m saying this...Lukas is right. I absolutely refused to let Daniel be forced into this.”

“Yeah well a lot of fucking good it did,” said Sean. “You’re still here. If you really cared you would have stopped this.”

“Don’t take this out on Max!” said Daniel. “This  _ was _ my choice. I’d rather have any other life than this one. It’s not fair that I get to be out there while you’re stuck in here. And Max and Lukas have powers, Sean. They can help us see dad again.”

This was such bullshit. Sean didn’t know what these people had said to his brother, but he knew full fucking well that you couldn’t just change the past. He was about ready to tell them both off when he could hear Lukas chuckling. Turning to him, the asshole was standing there laughing with his eyes closed.

“What’s so fucking funny?” Sean demanded.

“Nothing,” said Lukas, opening his eyes. “It’s cool, Daniel. Open the door.”

Sean felt a gentle push in his midsection and his hand involuntarily released itself from Daniel’s arm. Daniel was using his power on him, but he had more control and precision than Sean had ever seen. He watched as his brother moved his left hand in precise motions. There was a slight clicking sound, as if tumblers were being turned in the cell door’s lock individually. Suddenly, the door slid open, guided by Daniel’s invisible hand. Lukas walked through the door and stopped a few feet from Sean.

“We’re here to help you,” said Lukas. “I promise, what I’ve said to your brother and what I’m saying to you now, is absolutely true: if you come with us, all of this will be changed. And you’ll see your dad again.” 

“Don’t fucking lie to me,” Sean replied. “I’m already in prison. Taking you out wouldn’t add much to my sentence.”

Sean rushed him, his fist clenched and aimed right for Lukas’ jaw. Right before it made contact, Lukas grabbed Sean’s fist and held it, blocking the punch before knocking it away. 

“Do not,” Lukas began, “call me a liar.”

Trying again, he went for Lukas’ gut. Lukas, at the last second, moved just enough to avoid being hit. Once more, Sean dove at him, only this time he felt legitimate pain as Lukas blocked the punch with his left arm and pinned Sean to the wall with his right.

“Lukas, don’t hurt him!” Daniel pleaded.   


Lukas and Sean were inches from each other. Sean struggled against his opponent, but Lukas was deceptively strong. The look on his face was no longer one of amusement, but of frustration mixed with what seemed like concern. It confused Sean and he stopped trying to break free.

Lukas’ expression softened, and he continued. “I know this is pretty sudden, Sean, but we’re kind of at a point of no return here. There’s no way Daniel is letting us just walk away from you now. I get that you can’t trust Max and I, but for fuck’s sake, trust  _ him _ . If you come with us, you won’t have to worry about being behind bars ever again.”

Sean turned his head to Daniel. The look in his eyes pleaded with Sean to trust him. The dream he’d had was still fresh in his mind. The room made of ice, the sphere of light, Daniel’s words:

_ It’s ok, Sean. I’ll take care of you from now on. _

He recalled the conversation he’d had with his brother that afternoon. As much as he wanted to take Daniel at his word, Sean’s gut told him he couldn’t fucking trust these guys. But what if it was true? Could he  _ really _ see Dad again? He felt so torn between the reality of Daniel’s powers and the common sense in his mind screaming to put a stop to this. Daniel rushed into the cell, wedging himself between the two of them, and wrapped his arms around Sean. It felt even tighter than the hug he’d received at their visit. Lukas stepped back, but maintained eye contact. Max followed behind Daniel, and smiled at Sean as she entered. He felt his brother’s embrace grow even tighter, and he knew in his heart, rather than his mind, what the answer to the dilemma was. He nodded wordlessly to Lukas, who did so in return.

“So you guys must be Rewind and uh...Timeskipper, right?” said Sean.

“Something like that,” said Max, turning to Lukas. “We need to go.”

Lukas moved to leave, but just as he reached the door, alarms throughout the cell block started blaring. 

“Shit,” said Lukas.

Sean looked back at Daniel, who he could tell was thinking the exact same thing: they were on the run again. Sean watched as Lukas bolted down the corridor. Max tapped both Sean and Daniel on the shoulder as she ran past them, following behind. Sean took one last look at his cell and realized he couldn’t stand to be in the place a minute longer. Taking Daniel by the hand, they ran out the door and down the cell block, closely following Lukas and Max.

Sean could feel his heart racing like he was back on his high school track team. The adrenaline rush, the blood pumping through his veins. It was a feeling long forgotten, but Sean reveled in every second of it. They approached the door at the end of the wing and Sean saw Lukas motion to Daniel. Continuing to run, Sean watched his brother extend his hand and the door ahead of them ripped off its hinges and bolts, falling flat to the floor while taking part of the wall with it.

They leapt over the remains of the door and turned down a long hallway that Sean knew led to intake processing as well as facilities for the staff. As they ran, he noticed that each and every one of the security cameras along the corridor was crumpled and emitting sparks. Clearly Daniel hadn’t  _ only _ remembered the good shit that Sean taught him to do. Left. Right. Left. They had to be getting close to the exit. He knew it was only his imagination, but he felt like he could smell the air coming from outside, and it smelled of freedom. Sean picked up the pace, Daniel doing his best to keep up. He saw a sign with an arrow pointing straight ahead with the words ‘Loading Dock’ written next to it. They were almost there.

“FREEZE!” Sean heard as they reached the loading dock. God damn it, they had been so close.

Four police officers stood between them and the outside world. Three police cars, their lights flashing, blockaded the only way out. Now not only was Sean probably getting an extra 20 years added onto his sentence, what was going to happen to Daniel? In unison, they all raised their hands.

“Fuck, Lukas, I didn’t sign up for this,” said Max. “Please tell me you have a  _ real _ plan for once in your life.” 

“I do,” Lukas said.

“Wait, you do?” Max replied.

“GET ON YOUR KNEES!” one of the police yelled. They slowly knelt to the ground.

“Daniel,” Lukas instructed, “when I tell you, get rid of their guns and move the cars.”

“Got it,” said Daniel. The confidence in his voice terrified Sean.

“Max,” he continued, “once Daniel’s done his part, I want you to keep rewinding back to the same point, on my signal. You’ll know when to stop.”

The police inched closer.

“FLAT ON THE GROUND!”

Lukas seemed intensely focused and Sean thought he heard him counting seconds. Just as he went to lay flat, he could hear Lukas whisper to Daniel, “Now!”

Daniel extended his arm. In the blink of an eye, all four guns were ripped from the police officers’ hands. Crushing the firearms like they were made of glass, Daniel tossed them aside. Standing up before the officers could even react, Sean watched in dread as Daniel, using both arms, lifted the three police cars slightly off the ground and shunted them off to the side in a heap. The sound of the frames twisting into some unrecognizable dumpster fire was deafening. With the exception of the police still standing between them and freedom, the way was now clear.

Lukas jumped up and pointed at Max. Extending her hand, chills ran down Sean’s spine as he watched Lukas disappear. Daniel gasped and Sean looked over at the officers. Behind each one stood Lukas, seeming to flicker in and out of existence. Simultaneously they each grabbed an officer’s taser gun from its respective holster, aimed, and fired. As soon as they were on the ground, Lukas was whole once more, looking at them with an expression of awe to match their own. Sean stood back up and went to Max, who was frozen in place by the look of it. He took her hand and helped her up to her feet.

“Come on!” Lukas called. “We’re not out of here just yet!”

Sean, Daniel, and Max rushed to catch up with Lukas. Running past the incapacitated police and the mangled pile of vehicles, they made for the open gate. Crossing the threshold, alarms continuing to blare in the distance behind them, they rounded a corner and finally came to a stop, catching their collective breath. Sean took the entire scene in. Even things as mundane as streetlights and fire hydrants brought him joy to see. But the pleasure was fleeting, as down the street, Sean could see more flashing lights, hear more sirens screaming, and they were heading their way.

“Ok Max, rewind,” Lukas said.

“It  _ doesn’t  _ work like that!” said Max. “You’re not affected by it, but Sean and Daniel are! If I rewind, Daniel will still be here but Sean will be back in his cell!”

“Trust me, Max, I know this is going to work,” said Lukas.

The sirens were getting closer. They didn’t have much time left. Lukas and Max continued to bicker. Sean looked at Daniel, who looked back at him. He could feel the grip of his brother’s hand tighten around his own. 

“Whatever you guys plan to do, you better do it fast!” said Sean.

“I can’t rewind that far! I’ve never tried!” said Max. “And what about changing the past too much?! Shit, we are so fucked!” She looked back at the police cars which were now slowing down, close enough that the headlights were blinding.

Sean felt Lukas grab his arm and turned to see not only was he holding  _ his  _ arm, but Daniel’s as well. He had a look of determination on his face that was both encouraging and terrifying at the same time.

“Just do it, Max!” Lukas screamed.

Sean watched Max extend her hand again. An explosion of golden light, streams racing past him like he was traveling at lightspeed, appeared before Sean. Through them he could see the police cars moving in reverse. The lights sped up even more, obscuring his vision, and he realized he was seeing with both eyes. The lights turned to images, almost like a slideshow. Sean saw the journey he had taken with his brother, his childhood, and other memories from throughout his life. Some images though, were unfamiliar to him. He saw himself, only older, and with both eyes intact. He was standing with an older Daniel...and his father. Sean was wearing a graduation cap and gown, and smiling. He saw himself sitting at a workstation, drawing on a large tablet. This wasn’t his life.

“I’ve missed you,  _ mijo _ ,” Sean heard to his right. Turning his head, he saw his father’s smiling visage. He tried to speak but no words reached Sean’s lips. All he could do was stand there, mouth agape, as tears rolled down his face. The golden light burned brighter and brighter until it was blindingly white. 

Sean opened his eye, and found himself standing on the same street. With no alarms blaring, it was quiet and there wasn’t a police car in sight. To breathe in the cool night air was indescribable to him. Feeling Lukas’ grip on his arm loosen, Sean turned to ask him what had happened, but instead watched as Lukas, pale with blood flowing from both nostrils, collapsed to the ground.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, big thanks to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, el_bracco, and newwayhome. If you're new to the LiS2 Fandom I highly advise checking out the Wolf's Den discord server. Many of the authors of LiS2 fanfic hang out there and there's a lot of cathartic discussion surrounding the game. I appreciate all feedback and love to hear your comments!


	7. Chapter 7

_King County Juvenile Detention_

_Seattle, Washington_

_August 15th, 2017, 9:35pm_

Max wouldn’t have believed it if Lukas had told her what would happen. Her legs felt like they were made of jelly that had been sitting out in the sun too long. She had not yet lowered her arm. After what she had seen, her body refused to respond to the neurons firing from her brain, pleading with it to move. Max had rewound time by nearly 40 minutes and was somehow still conscious. But that wasn’t what shocked her. She had seen Lukas anchor Sean and Daniel, holding them in place like a rope preventing a ship drifting from its mooring, as she reversed time’s flow. 

The entire experience, to Max at least, had taken only a few seconds. Clearly, though, Lukas hadn’t thought what he’d done all the way through. Max’s stomach plummeted as Lukas, so pale that bleached chalk would look tan by comparison, a bright red river spilling from his nose, dropped like a plank to the ground.

“Lukas!” cried Daniel, moving with viper-like reflexes to use his telekinesis and soften Lukas’ landing.

“Oh my God,” Max said to herself. 

She started to move towards the group. Taking that first step was a mistake though, as she too felt the pull of gravity and was powerless to stop it. Thankfully, just as she began her plunge, Sean rushed to her side and caught her gently in his arms.

“Hey, easy there,” Sean said. “You ok? You look better than your friend.”

Max nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “Thanks though, I’d probably be a little less okay if you hadn’t caught me.” 

Max looked around the street. They were still uncomfortably close to the prison, and the cameras were intact once more. Daniel was kneeling at Lukas’ side trying to shake him awake, but he wasn’t responding. Max knew the longer they lingered, the more likely they were to get in trouble.

“We need to get off the street,” said Max. “Sean, can you help with Lukas? I’ll be ok, I think.”

Sean joined his brother alongside Lukas. As Daniel assisted with the initial lift via his power, Sean placed Lukas’ arm over his shoulder and together, with Max motioning for them to follow, they moved to a nearby alleyway. Putting Lukas in an upright sitting position, his back against the wall, Max knelt down in front of him. His head hung limp, and his breathing was shallow.

Max reached out and placed her hands on Lukas’ shoulders. Rocking him, as softly as she was capable of, back and forth, she tried to stir him. Her heart began to sink when he wouldn’t respond. Despite everything they’d been through so far, and despite her misgivings, she knew that deep down Lukas was not a bad person. He had just put his life on the line for Sean and Daniel, and Max was terrified that it truly was the cost for rescuing them.

“Lukas,” she said, “Please wake up. We can’t do this without you. We don’t know where to go! You can’t just bail on us now.”

“You promised me we’d see my dad again! I need your help!” said Daniel.

Max could hear the sorrow in Daniel’s voice and fought her own tears. It only increased her determination to bring Lukas back. There was no rewinding this, and she knew now that it was the downside to him not being affected by her power. She started to shake him harder, she didn’t know what else to do. Sean kneeled beside Daniel and placed his hand on Lukas’ shoulder. Max was glad Daniel was able to have support at this moment, even though she had none. 

Without warning, Lukas let out a racking cough and took in a sharp, deep breath. His eyes fluttered, and then opened the tiniest bit. Looking at Max, he spoke and his voice came out as a raspy whisper, like he had been fighting a bout of laryngitis for two weeks.

“Did we do it?” said Lukas.

“Yes,” said Max, and she could no longer hold back her tears as she pulled him in close. “Jesus fuck, don’t scare me like that ever again!”

“Wow,” said Lukas. “I didn’t know you cared so much. But I’m glad you guys are safe.” He coughed again and struggled to take another deep breath. 

“Hey man,” said Sean. “Thanks for putting your neck out for me and my brother. Sorry if things got a little intense back there.”

Lukas shook his head. “It’s cool, Sean,” he said. “It’s not like you had any reason to trust me. Daniel said it was your birthday today. _I’m_ sorry if it ended up shittier than you would have liked.”

Sean laughed and pulled Daniel close to him. “What are you talking about? I’ve got my brother back, and when all that shit just happened, I _did_ see my dad again. It was like a dream, but it also felt incredibly real. Like if I had tried to hold his hand, I could have.This birthday could have been a _lot_ worse.”

“I saw him too,” said Daniel, obviously still reeling from the experience. “I thought I was losing my mind but he looked right at me and told me he loved me! That power is so awesome dude!”

“Well, to be honest,” said Lukas. “It really was mostly Max.” He motioned to her as he spoke. 

Max took another deep breath as her heart calmed its rhythm. She felt selfish for thinking it, but her primary concern hadn’t been Lukas’ safety. Rather, it was that losing him meant losing her chance at having Chloe in her life again. It was moot now, but the guilt for even letting such a thought cross her mind weighed on her conscience. 

“We need to get moving,” said Max. “It’s not going to take them long to notice you’re not in there anymore, Sean.”

Lukas reached into his pocket, wincing as he handed his keys to Max.

“Head northeast toward Granite Falls,” he said, glancing over at Sean and Daniel. “I hope you guys like camping.”

_State Route 92_

_Washington_

_August 15th, 2017, 10:15pm_

The lights of the city gave way to inky blackness as Max took the route Lukas had instructed her. Heading down a rural highway, she wasn’t sure what the final destination was, but, surprisingly, she didn’t seem to care. A little over a week ago, if anyone had suggested to her that she would be breaking someone out of prison and pushing her powers to their absolute limit in an effort to bring her dead friend back to life, she would have said they were crazy. But here she was. Periodically, she would check the back seat to make sure everything was good with her three passengers. The brothers had figured it was easier to get in the back with Lukas than try to finagle him into the front seat given his weakened state.

The radio was playing some Top 40 BS at Lukas’ request. She wasn’t a fan, but normally when they’d been driving she insisted on the music. Taking pity on Lukas, given what he’d just gone though, she let him dictate the soundtrack for this leg of the road trip. 

“I think he’s asleep,” said Daniel.

Max glanced in the rear view mirror and saw him poke Lukas. Turning down the radio, she could barely make out the sound of Lukas sawing logs. It wasn’t intolerable, but it was her cue to finally change the station to something a little more her style.

“Then let him sleep,” said Sean. 

Despite the darkness surrounding them, Sean’s bright orange jumpsuit stood out like they were under blacklights at a rave.

“We need to get you some new clothes, Sean,” said Max. “We won’t get very far with you wearing that.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot,” said Daniel, leaning down and grabbing his backpack. “We still had some of your stuff at Grandma and Grandpa’s place.” He pulled out a pair of jeans and a dark blue hoodie with a red and blue wolf-shaped splotch on the front. “They said that you had, like, released them back to us or something.”

Max’s eyes kept darting back and forth between the mirror and the road as she watched the conversation continue to play out. The longer the brothers spoke, the more it felt like she and Lukas had done the right thing reuniting them. She saw Sean take the clothing out of his brother’s hands and stare at it like it was some long-forgotten treasure.

“I--” Sean paused. “--thanks.”

“Oh, there’s this too,” said Daniel, handing Sean a small gift-wrapped package. “It’s not anything big but I’m really happy I can actually give this to you, so, Happy Birthday!”

Sean took the package from Daniel and began to open it. “Daniel, you know you didn--” 

He stopped after the wrapping paper had been removed. Max knew it was a sketchbook, and Daniel had told her he’d made sure to find one that was just like the one Sean had on their journey together. Max was quite impressed at how effective this kid was at tugging her heartstrings. Sean looked from the sketchbook to Daniel, scooped his brother into his arms, and began to sob.

“Sean, it’s okay,” said Daniel, patting his brother on the back, but Max could tell he wasn’t having any easier of a time than Sean in holding back the waterworks..

“Thank you _so_ much, _enano_ ,” Sean said. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened today.”

“I think we all are,” said Max. 

She felt a little awkward rejoining the conversation after what felt like a private moment between the brothers. Lukas snorted and laughed before resuming snoring, clearly finding one of his stupid jokes in whatever he was dreaming to be hilarious. That’s when Daniel started giggling, then Sean. Before she knew it, Max was laughing so hard she almost couldn’t breathe and the brothers weren’t far behind. The raucous laughter continued for what felt like forever until they were all mutually able to stop giggling for more than five seconds.

“So where are we going camping, exactly? And why?” said Daniel.

“I’m not sure. We need some supplies first, though,” Max replied. “I borrowed some gear from my parents while we were staying with them, but we didn’t really have time to grocery shop.”

Max tapped the GPS app on her phone to see how far away they were. About 10 minutes out. There was a Z-Mart in Granite Falls, where Lukas had told her to head, but beyond that she didn’t know where the next stop was. They needed to clean Lukas up, too. The color had returned to his skin somewhat, but he still looked like he had taken a boot to the face in a bar fight.

“Go ahead and get changed, Sean,” said Max. “We’ll be stopping soon.”

Recollecting over the events of the last week, Max wondered again if Chloe was waiting at the end of all this for her. If she was, then Max would finally get a chance to say things that had been left unsaid. Watching Sean and Daniel reconnect had made her envious of the feelings that she had but could not declare. Because the person they were for had been ripped from her life just as she realized _what_ those feelings even were. It was a lot to think about, but there would be time for that later. Max kept her focus on the road to give Sean a little bit of privacy as they drove towards the unknown.

_Z-Mart_

_Granite Falls, Washington_

_August 15th, 2017, 10:30pm_

Lukas began to stir as Max parked the car and let out a big yawn as he started to wake up. Max couldn’t help but smile as it made Lukas seem like a big kid, falling asleep on long drives only to be roused when the forward momentum ceased. The parking lot at the Z-Mart was, for the most part, empty. Max had parked halfway between the store and yet another ACFC that was also in the parking lot, closer to the main road. Her goal had been to be as inconspicuous as possible, but she doubted that she was succeeding in her efforts.

“Oh man, I’m _so_ hungry,” said Daniel from the back seat. 

“Same,” said Lukas. “Timeline skipping takes it out of you, apparently.”

Max considered the ubiquitous chain restaurant and its inviting glow. She felt like she too could go for some deep-fried caloric nightmare. Taking everyone’s order, she asked Daniel if he could come with her to help carry everything. She was worried that Sean would still be hesitant about letting Daniel go off on his own with her. He did not disappoint, but Daniel insisted. Giving into his brother’s request, he offered Max his blessing, and resumed turning his new sketchbook over in his hands between bouts of opening it and flipping through its blank pages. 

As they walked to the restaurant, Max tried to kill the silence with some light conversation. She figured that out of all of them, Daniel, being as young as he was, probably felt the most out of place. She wanted to reassure him that they were all in this together.

“So,” she said. “I bet you’re excited to have your brother back.”

“Yeah, it sucks that we couldn’t find a better way though,” said Daniel. “Now we’re right back where we started, running from the police.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground as they walked. “Do you think Lukas knows what he’s doing? About seeing my dad again? If he can’t even use his powers to help me and Sean without hurting himself... ”

Max didn’t want to give him false hope. In her heart, she was still unsure of whether or not they could trust him. “I think Lukas’ heart is in the right place,” she said. “I mean so far, we’ve done everything we set out to do, right? So, he seems to know what he’s doing, in a way. I think what happened back at the prison was just because we didn’t have time to think of a better plan.”

“What about you?” said Daniel. “Why are you here? Did he just bring you along because you have powers?”

Max considered for a moment. If she was to open up to anyone in their little caravan of misfits, Daniel was probably the safest. “Well,” she said. “The short version is that a few years ago I had to make a choice: save my best friend or save an entire town. It was the hardest choice I ever had to make. Lukas told me that he could help me change things so I wouldn’t have to choose.”

“You chose to save the town, right?” said Daniel.

Max stopped in her tracks. Was she that transparent? Did she seem like the type of person that would always abandon people she cared about for the “greater good”, as Lukas had so eloquently put it?

“Yeah, but how did you guess?” said Max.

“You seem really nice,” he said. “Like, you care about people. Even ones you don’t really know. I bet your friend was really proud of you for being brave enough to do that. It was kind of like the choice Sean had to make for us. Choices like that are hard.”

“Yes, they are,” said Max. “But I think we both made those choices for the right reasons. You always wonder ‘what if’ though, you know?”

Daniel nodded as she spoke. Max had never really had the chance to open up one-on-one with someone about her feelings surrounding what had happened in Arcadia Bay. It felt amazing to just be validated for once, even by a 10 year-old, that she had done the right thing, if only from an objective eye. In reality, Max had never been okay with that choice but she knew that as guilty as she was about having to sacrifice her best friend, the alternative would have made her feel like the most selfish person in the world.

“I like you,” said Daniel. “You remind me a lot of Sean’s friend Lyla. I think you two would get along great.”

“Well maybe, once this is all over, you can introduce me,” said Max, opening the restaurant door for Daniel.

A few minutes later, Max and Daniel exited the restaurant carrying bags of golden-fried goodness. They chatted about the cashier who was obviously stoned and Daniel kept trying to make Max laugh with jokes that might as well have been verbatim from a Dad Joke app, and probably were. As they approached the car, Max noticed that Sean and Lukas were leaning against it side-by-side, hoods pulled up and smoking cigarettes. Had it not been for the age difference, she could have easily been fooled into thinking they were twins.

“I see you two have kissed and made up,” said Max, placing the food on top of the trunk. “You sure you’re ok to smoke Lukas?”

“I’m fine, thanks, Mom,” said Lukas. Sean actually laughed. No two ways about it, Lukas was back to his old self despite his recent brush with death. Dropping his cigarette butt on the ground, he stomped it out. “Really, though, thanks for grabbing the food.”

“Hey, Rewind and Timeskipper have to look out for each other, right?” said Max.

Gathering around the back of the car, they all dove in like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Sean, in particular, ate so ravenously that Max thought she might have to go grab him more food. The conversation was light, casual. There were jokes, laughter, good-natured name calling. It actually felt normal, like a day at Blackwell with some of her classmates. Max watched and laughed as, after checking to make sure no one was around, Sean and Daniel played a game of makeshift basketball with the trash. Daniel floated one of the plastic bags a couple feet above their heads as Sean tried to make three-point shots. Max pulled Lukas aside and patted him on the back.

“I really am glad you’re okay, you know,” said Max. She continued to watch Sean and Daniel enjoying a moment she knew they wouldn’t have even thought possible 8 hours ago.

“I know, Max,” said Lukas. “I didn’t know if that was going to work. As per usual, I got cocky and things went wrong. I’m glad we got the end result, but, standing here, watching the two of them now,” he paused, looking up at the night sky. “I think if I hadn’t actually survived, my only regret would be that I’d failed to let you guys know what the next steps were.”

“Well, you can always tell us now,” Max said.

Lukas nodded and looked back at her. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s get some stuff here then put as much distance between us and Seattle as we can. Once we’re able to ditch the car and be on foot, at camp, I promise I’ll tell all of you everything I know.”

All the trash having been collected, Sean and Daniel wrapped up their little game and walked with Max and Lukas to the front of the store. Max could tell that despite Lukas putting on a good show, he was still pretty low-energy. He was moving slower and it seemed to require a lot of effort to even do that. Lukas put his hand on Sean’s shoulder, stopping him before they entered.

“That eye patch is going to be a dead giveaway for you to get recognized after your face has been all over the news,” said Lukas. “We need to keep a low profile. Here.” Lukas pulled his sunglasses out of his hoodie pocket and handed them to Sean.

Sean took the sunglasses but gave Lukas a confused look. “It’s like, almost 11:00,” said Sean. “Won’t I look like a giant douchebag wearing these inside at night?”

“Just pretend you're blind. I’ll be your seeing-eye Lukas!” he said, leaving his hand on Sean’s shoulder and “guiding” him into the store. Max heard Daniel stifle his laughter as she followed behind. 

The parking lot had not lied; the store was pretty much dead and they had free run of the place. Walking up and down the aisles, filling their cart with various non-perishables along with a couple boxes of Chock-O-Crisps at Daniel’s request. Sean and Lukas kept throwing every salty snack imaginable in the cart, causing Max to question if they had only been smoking cigarettes back at the car. 

Max wished that this feeling she had would never go away. Everything about these moments seemed so natural to her. It was almost as if this group was meant to be together. But did fate really exist? The mere existence of both her and Lukas’ powers suggested that fate was simply a construct created by humanity to explain why bad things happened to good people. And they had proved fate could be changed, and they would continue to change it. She didn’t know how or where, but she knew she _would_ see Chloe again.

Using the self-checkout, she and Lukas did the math trying to tally up who was going to get what. Ultimately they decided to split the tab 50/50.

“Wow,” said Sean. “I feel bad I can’t help.”

“It’s fine, man,” said Lukas. “Least we can do right? I mean--”

Lukas stopped and stared past Sean into the electronics department. Max looked as well and felt the color drain from her face. On every TV was the local news with the banner below the anchors reading:

**BREAKING: ESCAPED INMATE FROM KING COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION - HAD ACCOMPLICES**

Knowing she was in public, even as vacant as the store was, Max did her best to remain calm. Daniel and Sean, the latter no longer playing the blind card, watched what was unfolding on the screens as well.

“Fuck,” said Lukas. “That was way faster than I thought. It’s barely been an hour.”

The image on the screen switched from the anchors to surveillance camera footage of all four of them. Max realized that she had fucked up. She’d rewound too far, to the point before Daniel had disabled the cameras on the outer wall. They had been so distracted by Lukas that they hadn’t even paid attention to their surroundings.

Sean clearly stood out because of his attire, but the quality in general was, thankfully, not great. It would take them time to ID her and Lukas. Daniel was already a known accomplice, and in that moment Max hated herself for agreeing to put him in this situation. Regardless, they needed to move, and fast. Ripping the groceries from the self checkout, she motioned for them to follow. They walked with purpose out of the store and back to the car. No words were spoken, but none were needed. One truth and only one truth was on Max’s mind in that moment: they were running out of time.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, el_bracco, and newwayhome for all their support. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story and eager to find out what happens next!


	8. Chapter 8

_Mountain Loop Highway_

_Washington_

_August 16th, 2017 12:10am_

Sean knew his vision was bad, being short an eye, but as they drove through the night to who-the-fuck-knows-where, it highlighted just how much he couldn’t see. Other than the light coming from the dashboard, there wasn’t much Sean could make out. He might as well have been in a pitch black room. Daniel leaned into his side, fast asleep, and Sean placed his arm around him. Things had felt normal for a solid 40 minutes or so before everything went to shit again. They’d been quiet for the majority of the drive so far. Sean knew they were all thinking the same thing: how long until the cops caught up with them? 

“Sean, it’s going to be ok,” said Lukas from the front seat.

Sean laughed to himself. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

He knew that Lukas was only trying to lighten the mood, and he couldn’t deny what he had experienced back in Seattle. Sean couldn’t just explain that away. But all he had to go off of, now that they were on the run again, was a promise that whatever they were planning would work. He’d heard similar reassurances before from Finn, and he had stupidly agreed to go along for the ride. Here he was again, doing the same shit. Clearly you didn’t learn your lesson, Sean.

“You still haven’t told me anything about what this plan is, Lukas. Or what we need to do,” said Sean.

“He hasn’t told me much either,” said Max. “You did say you’d tell us more once we settle in at camp, right?”

“That I did,” said Lukas. “Wait, I think this is it. Pull over here, Max.”

As instructed, Max slowed down and stopped on the side of the road. Turning off the car, the dome lights brightened the interior, and Daniel started to wake up. Sean propped open his door and the sound of the forest night reached his ears. The smell of the air, the stars above him, Daniel at his side, all brought him back to a night not so long ago at Trout Creek Trail. He had lost his dad 2 days prior to that, and mere hours ago he felt like he had seen him in the flesh. It was so much for him to wrap his head around.

“Hey, are we there yet?” said Daniel, yawning.

Sean smiled and grabbed Daniel’s shoulder, playfully shaking him awake. “Not yet, _enano_ ,” he said. “I think we gotta walk a little bit. You ok with that?”

Daniel nodded and stretched, following Sean as he stepped out of the car. Sean watched Lukas walk past them. In the brief time they’d had to interact when Daniel and Max had gone to pick up the food, Lukas had actually been pretty chill. He had been really concerned with how Sean was feeling after the breakout and was super apologetic for everything that had happened. That made Sean feel guilty about trying to fight him. Sean knew that wasn’t who he was. He was just so fucking miserable. But being with Daniel again was already making things easier. Lukas went to open the trunk and suddenly fell forward, grabbing onto the back of the car to steady himself.

“Hey man,” said Sean, rushing over to ensure he didn’t fall. “You ok?”

Lukas nodded, but Sean could see the color fading from his face again. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he said. “Just got dizzy all of a sudden.”

“Well, here, let me help out,” said Sean.

Opening the trunk, Lukas revealed a treasure trove of camping equipment: a multi-room tent, air mattresses, blankets pots and pans, a propane burner, and flashlights. Sean was envious thinking that all of it would have been incredibly useful when he was on the road with Daniel. When Max had said she’d borrowed some gear from her parents, Sean assumed she meant a tent and a couple sleeping bags. Briefly, an image flashed through his mind of a gas station back room and a boot to the face. He shook his head to chase the thought away. Max joined the group and started helping haul stuff out of the trunk.

“Man, your parents must _really_ like camping,” said Sean.

“Oh, not really,” said Max, placing one of the bags over her shoulder. “More like they always planned to camp one day and never got around to it. They seemed happy to be rid of the stuff honestly.”

Sean helped Max with gathering up the rest of the gear. Honestly, where they were was pretty fucking remote. With this much equipment, plus the food they had bought, they would be good for at least a solid week. Maybe a short vacation wouldn’t be so bad until whatever Lukas had planned actually took place. Or until the cops finally caught up with them. Sean tried to stay optimistic, but he was so used to every little goddamn thing going wrong that he couldn’t help but expect the worst. Lukas pulled Daniel aside and pointed at the license plate.

“Hey, Daniel,” said Lukas. “We don’t have any tools but I don’t want to abandon this car with the plate on it. Can you get that for me?”

“Yeah, for sure,” said Daniel. 

Sean watched as his brother extended his arm and moved his fingers in precise motions. The screws holding the plate to the car cleanly fell off and the plate began to float in the air. Lukas grabbed the plate and placed it in his bag. Sean couldn’t help but be impressed at how much Daniel had improved on his own. He helped Max and Sean out, “carrying” some of the gear ahead of them as, with flashlights at the ready, they began their trek into the woods.

Max and Daniel led the way with Lukas and Sean following behind. He could tell Lukas was having trouble keeping up while carrying his share of the gear. Without asking, Sean grabbed Lukas’ bag and hoisted it over his own shoulder. Lukas smiled at him and glanced ahead to Max and Daniel, laughing and joking as Daniel manipulated several pieces of gear with his mind like it was nothing.

“Looks like he’s made a new friend,” said Lukas.

“Yeah. I think this is the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time,” said Sean. “Something’s different about him, though. He seems, I don’t know, older, I guess?”

Sean realized as he spoke how fast he and Daniel had needed to grow up during their time on the road. Daniel had never gotten to truly experience being a kid. If they could see their dad again, have the life they should have had all along, it’d be like Daniel never missed out on those experiences. It dawned on Sean that the same thing applied to him as well. The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to see things through even if the cost was still an unknown.

Sean had been so lost in thought that they had reached what Lukas had flagged as a suitable campsite. Max and Daniel were already setting up the tent. Setting the bags down at his feet, he hadn’t really paid attention to how heavy they were until he was no longer carrying them. He could feel the impression in his shoulder left by the strap without even needing to see it.

“Yeah, I can see that,” said Lukas. “He’s a good kid though. He kind of reminds me of _my_ brother.”

“You have a brother?” asked Sean. “How old?”

“He--” Lukas began, but then paused. He crossed his arms and kept his focus on Daniel, not looking Sean in the eye. “He would have been 19 this year. He died about four years ago.”

Sean felt a pang of guilt for even asking the question. “Oh,” he said. “I’m sorry man. You don’t have to talk about it.” 

Lukas shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” he said, walking over to a log and sitting down, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. “I haven’t really talked to anyone about it since it happened. I probably should.”

Sean sat down next to him and took a cigarette from the pack as Lukas offered it to him. Instinctively, Sean went through the motion of pulling his lighter out of his pocket, but realized it too had been confiscated when he had been arrested. It hurt to not have it. One more reminder of everything he had lost, including his dad. Just like back at the Z-Mart, he turned to Lukas who already had a light ready to go.

“Thanks,” said Sean, putting his cigarette to the flame. 

Nearly in unison they each took a drag, the embers slightly illuminating their faces in the dark as they inhaled. Sean watched his brother set up a really cool-looking 3-dome tent with Max, using his power to do most of the work for her. Sean still found it hard to believe that a few hours ago he had been laying in a cell just starting out a 15 year sentence. If he could erase all the bad memories from his mind, he would have been able to find peace in the moment. Lukas coughed to his left and the noise broke him free from his thoughts.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking,” said Sean, “...what happened? With you and your brother?”

Lukas exhaled, a cloud of smoke erupting from his lungs. He looked at his feet, then to Sean. There was something about Lukas’ eyes that made Sean feel like he was under a microscope. It wasn’t exactly a feeling he found disconcerting, but it did make Sean want to know more about him. He felt like Lukas wouldn’t bullshit him or tell him what he wanted to hear. Lukas had said he would see his dad again, and he did. 

In some ways, Lukas reminded him a lot of Finn. He definitely was not as carefree, but there was _something_ about him that immediately pulled Sean in. They both always seemed to have the answers, or at least were able to make you think they did. It made him feel like he could trust Lukas with anything, even though they had just met. As he compared the two in his mind, he was transported back to the forest in Humboldt. It had been a night much like this one, in a place much like this. That night he and Finn…

“Fuck, it was like 13 years ago now. We were pretending to be Power Rangers on the playground,” said Lukas. “We were on the jungle gym and we got a little too rough. Things happened so fast, but I ended up with a really bad concussion. Aiden--”

Lukas swallowed and looked back towards Max and Daniel. Sean could hear in his voice the pain these memories were causing. He went to put his hand on Lukas’ shoulder but Lukas held up his own hand to stop him. Sean had done something similar when Claire had tried to comfort _him_ that night back in December, when he and Daniel had shown up on her doorstep. Sometimes the nicest intentions weren’t always the best ones. 

“Aiden was paralyzed from the neck down,” said Lukas. “There was no recovering from that.”

Sean watched him inhale again. As the embers flickered and glowed, the faint light reflected off the tears on Lukas’ face. Sean felt like absolute shit for making Lukas relive this. He was asking him to give a play-by-play of what was probably the single worst memory of his entire life. It had been bad enough retelling the story of everything _he_ had gone through to fucking Flores. Opening up to a near-total stranger, who had no reason to care about his fucking feelings, had been one of the worst experiences of his life. Sean felt like such a hypocrite.

“Dude, I am so sorry,” said Sean. “That sucks so much. I mean it, we don’t have to talk about it anymore.”

“No, really, it’s okay,” said Lukas, wiping his face with his sleeve and taking another drag. “It actually feels good to talk to someone about it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to spill my guts like that to you. Not like I haven’t put you through enough today already.”

Sean shook his head and laughed. “I mean, I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to share it, I guess,” said Sean. “Especially after I tried and failed to take you out like five minutes ago. How did you learn how to dodge like that?”

Lukas flicked the butt of the cigarette away after rubbing it in the dirt. “Well, I didn’t. I mean, I _did_ but not just because I have really good reaction time,” he said. “Back after Aiden--after _I_ recovered from getting hurt, I noticed I was seeing insane shit when I closed my eyes. I thought I was going crazy until, one day, I realized what I was seeing wasn’t just random images but the future. That’s how I knew where you were going to try and punch.”

“Wait,” said Sean. “See the future? So you just knew we were going to meet and you were going to break me out of prison? And you knew how to dodge all my punches?”

“More or less,” said Lukas. “The future isn’t set. There’s a lot of things that can affect it, and, to be honest, I’ve had a lot of trouble focusing lately. There are so many possible outcomes I really have to concentrate and zero in on one I consider to be the most ‘optimal’ for whatever I need. In that case it was making sure I didn’t get knocked out in your cell.”

Sean couldn’t help himself, he needed to ask the question burning in the back of his mind. “So why couldn’t you use that to help your brother?”

“I did. Or I tried, at least,” said Lukas, not making eye contact again. “I remember being so hyper-focused back then. Being able to pinpoint events or people that could give Aiden a better shot at survival. But I got overconfident, thinking I had all the answers. I realized too late that every timeline ended with him...just...I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

“I know what that feels like,” said Sean. “I tried everything to give Daniel the best life I could after all that shit went down. But in the end, it was either turn ourselves in or possibly die. I couldn’t live with myself if something had happened to him.”

Across the way, it seemed Daniel and Max had finished setting things up and Daniel was getting ready to pass out on an air mattress in the center dome. He walked over to Sean and hugged him, telling him to come to bed soon before he headed off for some well-deserved rest. Max zipped up the front of the tent and walked over to where Lukas and Sean were sitting. Sipping a bottle of water, she sat down on a rock across from them. 

“So,” she said. “What’d I miss?”

“Oh you know,” said Lukas. “Just revisiting terrible childhood memories. Got any you’d like to share?”

Sean knew Lukas was joking, but it didn’t lessen the sting Sean felt knowing that he had been the one to rub salt in the wound. Still, it felt like he was putting up a wall for Max’s sake. Just moments before, Lukas had been incredibly open and vulnerable with him. There was more to this than Lukas was letting on, and Sean was intrigued, wanting to know more. 

“I’d rather not sit here and wax poetic about my childhood,” said Max. “But, as I recall, you did promise us more information beyond just ‘there’s something coming,’ Lukas.”

Lukas stood up and nodded. He started puttering around where they were sitting and putting together some semblance of a fire ring and dry tinder as he spoke. “So, a few weeks ago, I had this vision,” he said. “It was incredibly vivid and unlike anything I’d ever seen before. At first I thought I was just having some kind of weird, lucid dream or something.”

Pulling out his lighter, he managed to get a small fire going. It wasn’t particularly cold outside, but the fire brought much-needed light. Sean listened with rapt attention and noticed that Max was leaning in close as well. Whatever Lukas had said to get Daniel on board, this was it. He hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Normally when I see different timelines it’s just a chaotic mess,” said Lukas, sitting back down. “But this was so specific. All timelines seemed to consistently lead to this _one_ point. And at that point there were only two outcomes. In both variations, I see a massive storm. It’s terrifyingly huge, miles wide, and it keeps growing.”

Sean caught Max shifting in her seat from the corner of his eye. She seemed uneasy and had not touched her water once since Lukas had started speaking. Sean didn’t know what her story was or why she was here, but clearly they were connected in some way. Daniel seemed to trust her well enough. If there was any question about Lukas’ intentions, he felt like Max would side with him and his brother.

“The difference between the two, the only difference in fact, is that in one of the outcomes I see all four of us in the eye of the storm,” he continued. “Suddenly the storm dissipates and each of us is standing there with someone who wasn’t there before. The more I found out about the both of you, I realized that each of those people represented someone we had lost.” 

“So Chloe,” said Max.

“And my dad,” Sean added.

Lukas nodded. “In the other scenario, where we _aren’t_ there, the storm just keeps growing. I couldn’t see beyond a certain point, but it was destroying everything in its path.”

Sean held his breath. Surely there would be more. He could tell Max was expecting the other shoe to drop as well, but it never did. Lukas sat in silence, looking at the fire. Sean and Max shared glances with one another. Max was visibly pissed as Sean watched her take another sip of her water. He couldn’t blame her. This “information” meant fuckall to him.

“So,” said Max. “When is this storm? And what are we supposed to do?”

“I’m not sure,” said Lukas. “But we’re on the path to where we need to go. The place where I saw us in my vision.”

“That’s it?” Max asked. “That’s fucking it? You had a bad dream and just expect us to sit around and wait for it? What if it never happens?”

“Max, I don’t know what else you want me to say,” said Lukas. “I’ve never had a vision so intense before. I knew it was important. I needed to tell you something to get you to come along!”

“So you lied to me?!” Max shouted, tossing her water bottle at Lukas. Sean was impressed at how good her aim was as it hit Lukas right in the forehead. “I had a _good_ life in San Francisco! I was so close to living my dreams! Now I’m stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, running from the law, and for what?!”

Lukas stood up and Sean could feel the tension increase tenfold. He wanted to interject but he felt like this wasn’t his fight. 

“You came with me because I told you that you’d be able to see Chloe again,” said Lukas. “That wasn’t a lie. I saw it. The four of us in a huge cavern of ice surrounding some kind of bright light, and when the light disappeared I saw you there with Chloe.”

Time stopped for Sean. The dream he’d had back in prison: Lukas had just described it precisely as he had seen it. Sean knew it wasn’t a coincidence. He had no idea why he’d had a dream showing the exact same scene as Lukas’ vision, but if it was actually real, then they _had_ to follow through. Even if Sean _couldn’t_ see his dad again in the end, the alternate reality Lukas described was far too great a cost to just give up on him.

“Fuck you!” Max shouted, walking over and shoving Lukas. “If I’ve learned _anything_ about you in this last week it’s that you only have the faintest idea of what the future holds! Give me the keys, we’re leaving.”

She held out her hand but Lukas stood firm. Sean read the look on his face as fear. But Lukas couldn’t have been afraid of Max. If push came to shove, he’d be able to take her out easily. No, Sean knew that what Lukas was afraid of was losing everything he’d worked so hard to achieve. He knew because it was the exact same feeling he’d had sitting behind the wheel of his mom’s beat up SUV at the Arizona-Mexico border, staring down the guns of a dozen police officers.

“No,” said Lukas. “We’re staying. We’re going to see this through.”

“You don’t even know what ‘seeing this through’ means, Lukas!” said Max. “You’re such a fucking pathological liar!”

Sean jumped up as Max tried to reach into Lukas’ pockets and take the keys. He gently, but firmly, grabbed Max’s wrist and held it in place. He said nothing, but shook his head at her.

“Let go of me, Sean!” she said. “You’ve only known him for a few hours! Don’t tell me you’re going to stand up for him like you believe this shit!”

“I do,” said Sean. “Because I’ve seen it too.”

Lukas stared at Sean, his face an expression of disbelief. Sean could feel Max’s wrist slacken in his hand and he immediately let go. Max seemed skeptical, and Sean knew she didn’t really have any reason to believe him. Lukas shook his head, like he refused to believe what he was hearing.

“Wait,” said Lukas. “You saw what I saw? How?”

Sean shrugged. “I don’t know. I had a dream, today actually, right before you guys showed up at my cell,” he said. “It was so real, and I saw the place that you described. It didn’t make any sense when I woke up but as soon as I heard you talk about your vision, I knew we’d seen the same thing. I believe you.”

“But--” Max began.

“Look,” said Sean. “We’re all tired. It’s been a fucking crazy day. Let’s just get some sleep and talk about this in the morning, okay?”

The look on Lukas’ face changed to one of immense gratitude. Max threw her hands up in the air and walked back to the tent muttering to herself. It felt to Sean that the situation had been thoroughly diffused. Max seemed level-headed enough, she’d probably come around eventually. He felt Lukas’ hand on his shoulder. Turning to him, he was greeted with a smile that once more brought him right back to Humboldt. Sean couldn’t understand what the fuck was going on in his head, but it wasn’t _entirely_ unwelcome.

Following Max back to the tent, Lukas wished him a good night as Sean unzipped the opening to his and Daniel’s “quarters”. It was roomier than anything they had slept in on the road, apart from Karen’s trailer, and there was an air mattress to boot. Compared to Humboldt, and his cell, this was the height of luxury. Sean had barely laid down on the mattress before his brother’s arm was draped over him. Sean pulled him in close and let out a sigh of relief. In the darkness of the woods, for now at least, Sean Diaz was happy.

_Big Four Mountain_

_Washington_

_August 16th, 2017 8:30 am_

Sean awoke in the same position he had fallen asleep. Daniel was curled up in a ball next to him, wrapped in a cocoon of blanket. Sun crept in through the thin fabric of the tent and Sean stretched as he climbed out of the bed, grabbing his new sketchbook and some pencils he had picked up at Z-Mart the night before. Trying his best to be quiet as he unzipped the flap, he stepped out into the morning sun. The view was amazing. The night before it had been so dark that he couldn’t see anything but what the fire had illuminated. An endless sea of evergreens rising and falling like frozen waves over the terrain, with the backdrop of a five-peaked mountain in the distance.

Sitting on the log he had shared with Lukas the night before, Sean opened the book in his lap. Normally he would have taken in the scene before him, committed it to memory, and put it to paper. But as beautiful as the landscape was, it wasn’t the subject he was planning to sketch. Without even looking up, he began to draw the image that had been thoroughly etched in his mind during his escape. 

As the graphite glided over the paper, lines blended together and began to form a replica of the golden streams of light. Within the streams he drew the finer details of what he had seen: the past he remembered, and the future that was not his own. At the center of it all stood his father, just as he had seen him in that brief moment. Sean was so absorbed in his craft that he barely felt the solitary tear rolling down his cheek as he put the finishing touches on the man who had made the single biggest impact on his life, and to whom so many words had been left unspoken.

“Hey,” said Lukas, sitting down next to him. “Sleeping in doesn’t really come easy to either of us, I see.”

In any other instance, Sean would have moved to hide his work from the prying eyes of others. But Lukas being there didn’t even faze him. He stopped halfway on the section of the drawing he was working on, two figures holding hands, and looked up to see Lukas staring intently at it.

“I couldn’t believe it when you said it last night,” Lukas said. “But that’s fucking wild.”

“Is this what you see all the time?” Sean asked.

“For the most part, yeah,” said Lukas. “What I see is a little more chaotic, but you’ve got the general idea.”

“It’s really fucking beautiful,” said Sean. “I’d give anything to be able to see that on demand.”

Lukas laughed and gazed off into the distance. The sunlight on his skin made it clear that his complexion was returning to normal, compared to the sickly pale he'd been the night before. Sean just couldn’t get a read on this guy, but here was something comforting about his presence in that moment. Sean took in the view as well. No words were necessary between them. They silently enjoyed each other’s company, Sean idly returning to his drawing and adding minor details here and there. The sound of the tent opening again caused them both to look up. Max made eye contact with Lukas, turned, and walked in the opposite direction. She stopped by a tree, her arms crossed and her back to them, leaning against it.

“I suppose I better go try and smooth things over with her,” said Lukas.

“Better you than me, man,” said Sean, laughing as Lukas got up.

Sean turned his attention back to his work. Going back to the figure he had been drawing when Lukas had joined him, he started to fill in the details. Two figures, holding hands, one pointing off in the distance. The pointing figure turned into himself as Sean continued to draw, squad wolf hoodie and all. Just like the images he had seen, this version of him still had both eyes. Smoothing out the edges, he moved to finish up the second figure. He took his time, making delicate lines to highlight the details of the figure. As he finished, he admired the work, but realized he had forgotten something.

Putting pencil to paper one final time, he knew the scale of what he was drawing would make the addition pointless, but Sean loved capturing the little things: an industrial bar in the second figure’s left ear. Sean looked over his work and, satisfied, closed his sketchbook. He gazed up at the sunrise over the mountain, listened to the birds sing, felt the light breeze graze his skin as it traveled through the forest, and smiled.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, big thanks to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, el_bracco, and newwayhome. I love to hear your thoughts on the chapters, feel free to leave a comment!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a musical cue in this chapter (similar to what some of you Bravest Wolf in the World readers might be used to). Just look for the hyperlink text to pull up the corresponding youtube video (audio?) to go along with the scene. Totally optional but there if you want to enjoy.

_“Dino Thunder, Power-up!”_

_“Tyranno Power!”_

_“Tricera Power!”_

_“Come on! We have to defeat Mesogog!”_

_“There’s too many of them! What do we do?!”_

_“Tricera Charge!”_

_“Tyranno Kick!”_

_…_

_“Oh my God! Are you ok?!”_

_“What happened...?”_

_“Call 911! He’s bleeding really bad and his brother is unconscious!”_

_…_

_“Mr. and Mrs. Harwood, Lukas suffered a major concussion in the fall, but he should make a speedy recovery. Aiden, however, will likely be bedridden for the rest of his life.”_

_…_

_“Mom?”_

_“Yes, honey?”_

_“Am I a bad person? For hurting Aiden?”_

  
  


_Big Four Mountain_

_Washington_

_August 16th, 2017 8:40 am_

Lukas knew he should have been more forthcoming with Max about what he had seen. But even to him, it seemed like the flimsiest of stories. He had felt the need to be as vague as possible in San Francisco to assuage his own doubts. Lukas was fully aware that he had only ever seen a timeline so clearly once before in his life: the day Aiden died. But how would he have been able to share that with Max without coming off as completely insane? In retrospect, it probably would have served him better. But hindsight, as always, was 20/20 and the past was Max's forte, not his. Walking up to her side, the morning breeze drifting through the trees, he wasn’t sure what to say.

“You know, between your acting skills and your aim with a water bottle, I think you’re missing your calling,” he said, making a show of rubbing his forehead where her beverage had hit its mark the night before.

“For a second there, I was stupid enough to believe you knew what you were doing,” Max said, not even flinching. “It’s easy for you to convince a teenager and a 10-year old to believe your shit, but I took a leap of faith for you. Now I’m paying the price.”

Lukas put his hands in his pockets and took in the mountainous landscape before him. He hated being called a liar, even if she hadn’t actually said it outright. No one ever believed him. His fucking parents had thought he was crazy when he tried to confide in them about his power. Just a desperate cry for attention, they had said. Lukas knew the only reason he wasn’t sitting in some psych ward right now was because his parents couldn’t have been bothered to deal with the paperwork after Aiden’s death completely tore the family apart. His entire life had been him trying to get people to trust him. And when Sean had finally said those three simple words the night before, _I believe you_ , it had made everything up to then worth it.

“Max, I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have been more direct with you, but--”

Max held up her hand. “There’s no ‘but’. I don’t know why you felt like you had to withhold info from me, but if you really _knew_ anything about me, you’d know that I’ve seen enough crazy stuff in my life that I would have at least listened.”

“You’re right,” he said, nodding. “You’re absolutely right. You’ve been a good friend and I haven’t done anything worthy of earning your trust. I just don’t know how to fix it at this point.”

Max finally turned to him, and he could see in her eyes that she wanted to make amends as much as he did. They’d only known each other a little over a week, but there was something about convincing a kid to run away from home, breaking his brother out of prison, and evading the police that just forced a strong bond. Lukas knew how much was at stake, assuring Max of the validity of that claim was going to be much harder.

“Tell me everything,” Max said. “No secrets between us, okay?”

Lukas sighed. He knew that he needed to do it. Somehow, it had been so easy to open up to Sean, why was granting Max the same courtesy so difficult? As he started to explain his past, and how it connected to his vision, he realized that the weight he had felt in his chest was not as heavy the second time around. Max stood there and listened without commentary. It was difficult to read how she was taking the story, but Lukas continued on, unable to stop. Every word he uttered increased the sensation of feeling lighter. By the time he finished, Lukas could not find any other way to describe how he felt than, simply, better.

Max stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Looking away, then back at him, then away again, Lukas wondered if he had truly done the right thing, opening up to her like that. For the better part of his life, Lukas had felt that relying on himself was the only safe option, and people like Max were a means to an end. But the longer he spent with her, Daniel...and Sean...the more he realized how much he had been hindering himself.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” said Max, breaking the awkward silence between them. “You may think that I couldn’t possibly understand or something, but I hid in a corner, listening to the most important person in my life be shot dead in cold blood. I know what it’s like having to lose someone. Knowing it’s coming and there’s nothing you can do to stop it, I don’t think there’s any feeling you can compare that to. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, I get it.”

“You sacrificed a friend to save hundreds of lives, Max,” said Lukas. “Yeah, you knew there was a choice, but you could always go back and see how things played out differently. I don’t know what the world got in exchange for me losing my brother. I never had the chance to go back and change what happened when we were kids. Until now.”

Max shook her head and turned back to Lukas. “You don’t _know_ that though, that’s the problem. We could be out here for weeks, and if nothing happens we’re all going to have a much more immediate concern on our hands.”

Her logic was sound, there was no escaping that fact. Lukas knew that the time for words was long past, he needed to take action to regain her trust. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the rental car keys and offered them to Max. She gave him an inquisitive look, as if she was trying to figure out what game he was playing, or what ultimately happened in the timeline where he did this. But there was no looking ahead for Lukas right then. He was, for the first time in a long time, going with his gut in the moment, trusting that he was making the right decision.

“Stay with me for a week,” he said. “We’re not quite where we need to be yet, we’ve still got a little ways to go. If, after we get there, nothing happens for a few days, you can abandon me. Daniel and Sean can choose to do whatever they want, I won’t stop any of you.”

Max hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the keys from his hand. “Thanks. I mean, I appreciate the gesture. It still doesn’t fix the larger issue of what we do after we leave now that we’re all fugitives, though.”

“If what I’ve seen comes to pass, and you’re not here,” said Lukas, “...it won’t matter.”

Max nodded as she pocketed the keys, but Lukas kept his hand out and opened for her. She took his hand and they shook on it. They’d done this once before, but Lukas’ heart hadn’t been in it. This time would be different. No secrets, just the raw truth between them, no matter how painful it might be.

  
  


_Big Four Mountain_

_Washington_

_August 20th, 2017 7:00 pm_

In the shadow of the mountain that they had set up camp in that day, it felt like the sun was setting earlier. Lukas had taken them down into a valley that led right up to the root of the peaks they had viewed from a distance the morning after they had first set out into the wilderness. At its base were large, almost glacial, structures, with openings that beckoned them to venture further in. Lukas knew they were the caves he had seen in his vision, but had been disappointed to find nothing of interest inside when he and Daniel had made a brief survey of them.

With every passing day, Lukas grew less confident in what he had seen. It was true, he had no specific timeline on when the vision would occur. Max could very well have been 100% correct in that it could take months or not even happen at all. The vision had driven him to this point, everything that had brought them there he had been so sure of. But he felt more lost than ever. It was a feeling he knew quite well. After Aiden died, he had lost so much focus he felt like he was wandering aimlessly through life. He had a power, but it had failed him, so what was the point in using it?

He stirred the pot sitting on the small propane burner they had brought along. To say they were roughing it would have been an exaggeration. By all accounts, they had been living quite comfortably over the past four days. Lukas had taken food duty as he felt it was the easiest way for him to express his dedication to their effort. Thankfully, he had some modicum of knowledge on how to cook. When his parents got divorced after the loss of his brother, Lukas had been old enough to fend for himself. He had quickly learned how to make do with what he had. Max and the others seemed to appreciate his mediocre abilities, and that was the most he could ask for, given what he was asking of them in return.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught some movement and turned to see Daniel running at him full speed ahead. It was comical how sudden his stop was, Lukas could almost hear the cartoon screeching sound of burning rubber in his head. Lukas noticed that Daniel was holding onto his brother’s sketchbook, but didn’t think anything of it at that moment.

“Hey, that smells good!” said Daniel. “What is it?”

“Um,” said Lukas, checking the box the dehydrated soup packet had come in. This was really putting his cooking skills to the test. “Cream of potato with bacon?”

“Ha!” said Daniel. “Po-tay-toes! Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew!”

Lukas chuckled. He’d seen that movie too. But Daniel had apparently seen it quite a few more times than he had. He had lost count of how often he’d heard Daniel quote it while they’d been traveling together. For the sake of Lukas’ own sanity though, most of it had been directed at Sean who seemed to enjoy sharing the banter back and forth with his brother. It was heartwarming seeing the two of them together. There had been so many times Lukas had sat on the sidelines, watching them talk about the most mundane of things, but it filled his soul with an indescribable feeling. He’d lost his brother. They’d never had a real chance to have the squabbles and conversations that Sean and Daniel seemingly took for granted. But in reality, Lukas knew full well they were cherishing every moment they had together. To know that he was able to help Sean get back what he himself couldn’t…

“Isn’t that Sean’s?” said Lukas, continuing to stir the soup while nodding his head in the general direction of the sketchbook in Daniel’s hand.

“Oh, well yeah,” said Daniel. “But I really like his drawings and I haven’t seen any of his new ones yet. But _this_ one is so cool. Plus I added a little extra to it for him, just don’t tell!”

Daniel opened the book to the sketch Lukas had seen Sean drawing before. He hadn’t paid close attention to the minor details of it, but as his eyes glossed over the impressive image, they paused on something that he must have missed. Two figures, holding hands, one of them pointing. He could tell the pointing figure was Sean, but Lukas’ heart skipped a beat when he realized the other person had an ear piercing, clothing, and hair that all matched his own. It was him. There were some poorly drawn hearts around the figures, clearly Daniel’s work, but it still brought a smile to Lukas’ face.

Sean emerged from the tent. "Hey Daniel, have you seen my--" 

Lukas made eye contact with him and watched as Sean’s face darted to the open book in Daniel’s hands. Lukas quickly turned back to making himself busy with the soup as he saw Sean rush over to Daniel and grab the book in his peripheral. Daniel laughed and Lukas felt the tension had cleared enough in those few moments to rejoin the fray.

“Not cool, _enano_ ,” said Sean. “I, uh, wasn’t done with that one yet. I don’t like showing people my unfinished work.”

“It looked finished to me,” said Daniel, still laughing. “I even decorated it for you!”

“I mean, I’m no art critic,” Lukas added. “But I thought it was pretty damn good even before Daniel improved it.”

As Lukas started to ladle the soup into bowls, he allowed his eyes to meet Sean’s again. He couldn’t help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch whenever they looked at one another, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. But then Sean returned the grin and suddenly it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. In his mind he knew it hadn’t been more than a second or two, but it could have been 50 years and he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Max being drawn in by the smell of dinner broke their gaze.

“Perfect timing,” she said, setting her camera inside her section of the tent. “I’ve been starving for like the last two hours.”

“Glad to see you too,” said Lukas, rinsing the pot out with some bottled water. “You ok? You’ve been a little, I don’t know, short, since we got here this morning.”

“Are you even sure this is the right place?” said Max. “You said you and Daniel didn’t find anything. What if we’re not where we’re supposed to be?”

“Max, please, just trust me,” said Lukas. “My offer still stands. If nothing happens in the next day or two, feel free to leave.”

Max sighed. “I want to believe you, I really do,” she said. “But this isn’t exactly an enjoyable experience for me, you know.”

Lukas could feel the awkwardness between them and tried to think of something he could say to lift her spirits but nothing sprang to mind. Thankfully, Daniel came to the rescue, giving her a high five and jumping right into a play-by-play of his entire afternoon, which she acknowledged with nods and _uh-huhs_.

“So where did _you_ go, Max?” said Daniel.

“Oh I was just getting some shots of the sunset over the trees,” she replied.

“Man, everyone here is so artistic,” said Lukas, handing the bowls out to everyone. “We’ve got Sean, the sketch-master. Max, the hipster photographer. Daniel the...uh…”

“Lord of Levitation!” said Daniel.

“Yeah, I guess that works,” said Lukas.

Lukas sat down around the fire ring as Sean got the fire going for them. It had been a nightly tradition for them to the point where even after only a few days they all instinctively started gathering for dinner and conversation. They would just shoot the shit and laugh, like they were lifelong friends on a camping trip together.

“We need to figure out what your talent is, Lukas! I mean, besides cooking,” said Daniel, diving into the soup.

“Yes, my skills of pouring dehydrated soup into boiling water and stirring vigorously are unparalleled. You have discovered my secret!” said Lukas, knowing where this conversation was going but wanting to cut it off at the pass.

“Oh come on, Lukas, didn’t you have a hobby or something growing up?” Max asked. “There’s gotta be _something_ you’re good at.”

Lukas shook his head as he idly stirred the soup around in his bowl. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

In reality, he knew full well what Max was talking about and wished she would stop. In the brief time they had spent together in Seattle before the prison incident, she had learned his deepest, darkest secret. He had confided in her and swore her to utmost secrecy which she was clearly attempting to betray at the very moment. He had seen her guitar sitting in the corner of her room and couldn’t help but ask her to play. What had happened next was completely involuntary, and Lukas had forgotten where he was and who he was with.

“He’s just too shy to say he has a pretty good singing voice,” said Max. “He used to be in choir in high school!”

“That was a secret, ma’am,” said Lukas, staring at her with malicious intent.

“No secrets between us, remember?”

“I’m pretty sure that only extended to you and I. Sean and Daniel weren’t part of that deal.”

“You should sing something, man,” said Sean. Lukas immediately felt a pang of anxiety and was fighting the urge to toss the soup at Max . 

“Well, I’m really, uh, rusty,” said Lukas. “I’d need some kind of instrument backing me. And as you can see, there are none here.”

Max pulled out her cell phone as he spoke and the hand holding his soup bowl started to shake with rage. She smiled at him as she tapped a few times on her phone’s screen. Over the light crackling of the fire, the strumming of a guitar came through clearly. It was the song she had played at his request when they had been chilling in her backyard one night. As the music hit their ears he saw Sean and Daniel focused completely on him. He looked back at Max and put his soup bowl on the ground.

“I hate you,” said Lukas.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it goes, sir,” she said, resetting the song.

Lukas sighed as the chords they had just listened to repeated. His heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest it was beating so fast. The dampness of his palms was grossing him out and he wasn’t even sure how he was going to be able to pull off a song with his mouth as dry as it was. Looking back over at Sean, the smile that caught his eye calmed his nerves. Keeping the image in his mind, he turned his gaze to the fire and shared a part of himself that no one but Max had heard in [ years ](https://youtu.be/1JWWf6oH03Y).

_“High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life_

_Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time_

_Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends_

_A clock ticks 'till it breaks your glass and I drown in you again”_

_“'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need_

_Chasing relentlessly, I still fight and I don't know why_

_If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?_

_If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?_

_Why are you my clarity?”_

  
  


As the final notes of the song echoed onto the night’s breeze, Lukas could feel his knees shaking and had to consciously hold them in place as the soup in his stomach prepared for a return journey. He loved to sing, but he had never quite gotten over his fear of singing to more than an audience of one. And that audience had almost always been his brother.

“You have a really good voice,” said Sean. “Reminds me of our friend Cassidy. She used to play songs like that around the fire too.”

“I don’t know why you try to keep that hidden, Lukas,” Max chimed in, switching the phone to Spotify and starting one of her indie playlists. “You’ve got a gift. Now, as a rather controversial teacher once told me in a rare moment of wisdom, all you need is the courage to share it with others.”

“Maybe, once this is all over, I’ll consider that,” Lukas said.

The conversation continued between them as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened beyond Lukas providing some mid-meal entertainment. Max’s playlist was not Lukas’ first choice for his listening pleasure, but it set the mood exactly where it needed to be. Daniel would tell a dumb joke, Max would placate him, Sean would provide some snarky remark to his brother, he and Lukas would steal a glance, and the cycle would repeat anew.

“Max, I really like your photos,” said Daniel, finishing his soup. “They’re so colorful but also, like, mysterious.”

“Well, thanks,” said Max. “I think we’re all our own worst critics, but I’m happy you like them.”

“Do you think we could do a group selfie?” he said. “I’d love to have you take a picture of all of us. This week has been so crazy, but I want to make sure I never forget it.”

“Yeah, I think that’d be great!” said Max. 

Getting up from her favorite log, she walked back over to the tent and pulled out her camera. Returning to the group, they all knelt in front of the fire, Max holding out the camera, Daniel hamming it up front and center with Sean and Lukas behind him. Sean put his arm around Lukas’ shoulders and Lukas could feel tingles up and down his body. Composing himself as best he could for the photo, he smiled and in a blinding flash the memory had been saved.

As the polaroid slowly developed, Lukas had a minor heart attack when Max’s music was interrupted by an emergency alert notice. Running over to pick up her phone, Max silenced the alarm, but her face went white as she did so. She looked up at Lukas and he knew without a word that things had just gotten much more complicated. Bringing the phone over to him, she tapped the screen and showed him what she had already read.

“What is it?” said Sean.

Lukas took the phone and read it aloud for the group. “After concluding their investigation, Washington State Police have, in addition to currently in-place orders for Sean and Daniel Diaz, put out APBs for Lukas Harwood, 21, of San Diego, California, and Maxine Caulfield, 21, of San Francisco, California. Both have been identified as accomplices in the escape of Sean Diaz from King County Juvenile Detention on August 15th.”

“That is bullshit!” said Sean. “We saw the camera footage on TV, there’s no way it was clear enough for them to make out who you were!”

Lukas shook his head and continued. “As part of the investigation, it was discovered that Harwood and Caulfield, under assumed names, had posed as youth pastors from Beaver Creek, Oregon in what is believed to be an attempt to coerce Sean Diaz’s younger sibling, Daniel Diaz, into freeing him from prison. Records from a nearby motel during the same time frame, including a listed rental car in Harwood’s name, corroborated the report. At this time, no motive has been determined. Police are currently searching King County and surrounding counties for the suspects. If you see anyone resembling the suspects, please report to local law enforcement immediately. They are considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.”

Lukas looked back at Max, then to Daniel, who nodded at him. “Max, I need you to promise me you’re not going to rewind.”

“What? Why?” said Max.

“Because it’s for our own good,” said Lukas.

He tossed the phone at Daniel, who held it in midair and, like it was made out of paper, crushed the phone into a crumpled orb that dropped cleanly into the fire. Max rushed forward but could not react before the deed had been done. Lukas held out his arm to keep her back. Their eyes met and he knew she wouldn’t rewind, but the desire was certainly there.

“What the fuck, Lukas?!” Max screamed. “What are we supposed to do now? We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere! What if there’s an emergency?!”

Lukas pulled his phone out of his pocket and repeated his actions with Daniel once more. “Now that they know who we are, they can track us. They may have already been trying before that information was released publicly.”

“He’s right,” said Sean. “I tossed my phone three days after what happened with our dad. It kept us safe for over a month.”

Max let out an intense sigh and looked like she was going to pull out her hair. Lukas knew that he had let them down. How was this not an outcome he had seen? Maybe he had, but everything leading up to the point they were at was so chaotic, more variables than he could have comprehended. Plus anchoring Sean and Daniel during the escape had made it even harder for him to focus recently. He was putting them at risk keeping them here any longer, and he knew it.

“What do we do now?” said Daniel. Lukas could sense the fear in his voice and he hated himself for it.

“You have to leave,” said Lukas. “Get your stuff together. Head out first thing in the morning.”

“But what about you?” Max asked.

“I’m staying,” he said. “I’m fucked either way but at least here I’ve got _some_ chance to maybe stop whatever’s coming.”

“After everything you’re just going to say we don’t need to be here? Fuck that!” said Sean. “My life is going to suck for sure if I leave. If I stay I have an opportunity to make things better.”

Lukas shook his head. “You need to watch out for your brother. He needs you, and more than _I_ need any of you.” Lukas knew that was a lie, but he wasn’t going to let Sean walk away from Daniel like that.

Turning his back on the group, ignoring their pleas for him to reconsider, Lukas walked back to his section of the tent and stepped inside. Closing the flap behind him, he collapsed on the air mattress and curled into a fetal position. Everything was falling apart, just like before. With Aiden, there had only been one outcome, but with his vision, there were two. As always though, he succeeded in fucking everything up, blinded by his own hubris into thinking he had the solution to every problem. He could hear the trio outside the tent discussing next steps, and the guilt weighed so heavily on him he could barely stand it. His life was already ruined, and yet he had succeeded in dragging three innocent people down with him. As the self-loathing overtook him, he sobbed, trying and failing to hold in his gasps as he did so.

“I’m sorry, Aiden,” he whispered to himself. “I still couldn’t fix it. I lied to you again.”

As the night wore on, he tired himself out through the tears. Lukas began to drift off, and as the bliss of sleep enveloped him, he could just barely make out the sound of the wind picking up, and thunder in the distance.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy drama and angst! Thanks again to my beta-readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco! I'm currently writing Chapter 13 so plenty more to come!


	10. Chapter 10

_Big Four Mountain_

_Washington_

Lukas stood in the middle of the valley, between the tent and the entrance to the ice caves. The wind was still and the sky clear. The stars and moon provided an almost ethereal light to the surroundings. He didn’t remember leaving the tent, but that fact didn’t bother him. Lukas knew he was exactly where he needed to be. The conversation he’d had with the trio before going to bed seemed like a distant memory now. 

Closing his eyes, not to view timelines but just to experience the moment, he took a deep breath. The smell of pine, grass, and clean, fresh air, overtook him. Smiling, he exhaled and opened his eyes once more. Despite all the recent turmoil being divorced from the current moment by only a few hours, Lukas could not have felt more serene.

“It’s almost time,” a voice called to him.

Lukas turned in the direction of the speaker, toward the ice caves. In the mouth of one of the caves was a figure composed entirely of bright golden light. It was as if the timelines he saw whenever he tried to view the future were manifesting into a physical being. As the form moved towards Lukas, he did not feel fear or hesitation. Rather, he welcomed the interaction, and moved to meet it halfway. 

As he got closer, the intensity of the light enveloping it began to dim, and he could start to make out physical features. The clearer they became, the more Lukas slowed down, unable to believe what he was seeing. The wavy blond hair, the piercing blue eyes, the impish grin. The features that Lukas recognized had not changed, though they now belonged to someone older than when he had last seen them. Lukas was at a loss for words as Aiden stood there, smiling at him. His brother had a faint, phantasmal appearance, yet he still appeared solid, not quite a ghost, not quite a flesh and blood human being.

“It’s good to see you, Lukas,” he said.

“After all this time,” said Lukas, tears already streaming down his face. “Are you really here? Like, is this for real?”

“I’m not sure,” said Aiden, looking around. “I guess I’m as real as you want me to be.”

“Why here? Why now?”

“I’m here to tell you what you already know,” said Aiden. “You just haven’t been able to recognize that you do.”

Lukas was confused. Aiden was here, yet wasn’t, and he was going to share information with him that he knew, but didn’t. He would take any moment he could get with Aiden, even if it was fleeting and imaginary. As Aiden’s voice continued to resonate in his mind, it was like a key had unlocked forbidden knowledge. The words left Lukas’ mouth as if he was merely a puppet doing someone else’s bidding.

“The convergence,” said Lukas.

Aiden nodded. “You’ve known since the moment you first saw it.”

“But what is it?”

“It’s the universe attempting to right itself. To stem the damage caused by broken threads of time; situations with no resolution that you and your friend Max have inadvertently created. The same broken threads created a reality where your friend Daniel can move objects with his mind. A convergence of this magnitude has never happened before. Other, smaller convergences have occurred throughout history, but this could very well be the last.”

“Unless we stop it,” said Lukas.

Aiden held out his hand and turned his palm flat facing up. The vision that had appeared in Lukas’ mind played out in miniature, like a hologram in Aiden’s hand. Himself, Max, Sean, and Daniel standing around a small sphere of blinding white light. Their arms extended, but not quite touching it, the sphere pulsing with some kind of indescribable energy. A bright flash swallows the entire room, and as it fades, there they stand with their loved ones once more.

“What you’re seeing isn’t simply a vision,” said Aiden. “It’s your purest, most fervent desire. You’re not _stopping_ the convergence, you’re _controlling_ it and influencing its outcome. Without you and your friends to guide it, there is just too much chaos to create a resolution on its own. So the only alternative is to wipe the slate clean.”

As Aiden spoke, the words that he uttered felt alien to Lukas. Perhaps it was just because this Aiden was older, or that it truly wasn’t him but maybe Lukas’ own subconscious given form. But the voice was certainly not the Aiden he had grown up knowing. Of course, that was the Aiden that had died quadripeligic, knowing nothing other than a hospital room for the better part of his life. Was this what Aiden would have become if things had been different?

“So we tell it what we want? Think about what we want? I don’t understand,” said Lukas.

“You all know in your hearts the future that you want,” said Aiden. “This desire is all that is necessary to influence it. The lives that you could have had, despite fate having other plans, are within your reach.”

“There’s no such thing as fate,” said Lukas. “My power alone proves that.”

“Does it, though?” said Aiden. “You think of the future as being a series of potential outcomes that you can manipulate to your own ends. But you’re not just seeing different scenarios, Lukas, you’re seeing alternate realities. The lead up to what you want is just as important as the outcome you're trying to achieve. They’re like lanes on a highway, all moving forward in the same direction, but you can’t cross freely between them.”

“What am I supposed to do?” said Lukas, anxiety welling up inside him, worried where this would lead. “Just ignore what I see and not try to make the future better?”

“Better for others, or yourself?” said Aiden. “When you force things to happen a certain way, you are literally ripping a part of time from a reality other than your own and jamming it in place like a puzzle piece that doesn’t quite fit. You already know the consequences of what that causes.”

The heart monitor flatline rang out in his mind. Every day for nearly 8 years Lukas had, in any free moment available to him, sat at Aiden’s side, viewing what the future would hold. Getting his parents in touch with a specific doctor, altering medical charts when the staff weren’t looking, subjecting Aiden to experimental treatments that had only ever been approved for human use in one timeline. Had it really been for Aiden? Or had it been to make himself feel less guilty by trying to make amends for taking away Aiden’s youth, freedom, and happiness? Day after day, month after month, year after year, he had worked to prolong Aiden’s life. And in the end, it hadn’t mattered at all.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Aiden,” he said. “But I tried, I really did.”

“You know that isn’t true, Lukas,” said Aiden. “Because you know what you really created that day: a convergence of your own making. The price of resolving it was my life. By trying to help, you inadvertently caused precisely what you were trying to prevent. You think you have an opportunity to fix it now. But in reality you can’t.”

Lukas’ heart hurt. He wanted his brother back more than anything, to give Aiden the life Lukas’ own actions had taken from him. Now, at the eleventh hour, he was being told that wouldn’t be possible. The one chance to fix everything, and it was slipping through his fingers. It wasn’t true, Lukas had to keep telling himself that. What would be the point of having a vision he couldn’t act on? The wind, previously non-existent, started to pick up. Slow at first, then increasing in intensity, it felt unseasonably cold and it caused Lukas to shiver.

“But what about Max and the others?” said Lukas. “If I can’t bring you back doesn’t that mean it won’t work for them either?”

Aiden shook his head. “The deaths of their loved ones were just one of many possible outcomes, this is merely the reality in which they died. _That_ can be undone. _My_ death was the universe trying to undo the damage _you_ had caused. Bring me back, and it’s like two magnets, constantly pushing each other apart. A paradox the universe will be unable to successfully resolve. There _will_ be consequences.”

“I don’t believe that,” said Lukas, turning his back on his brother. “I’m going to make things right. I promised you I would.”

“You don’t have to save me to make things right,” said Aiden. “Just do the right thing. You already know what that is.”

Lukas turned back to Aiden, only to discover he was once again alone. The sky over the mountain darkened, and clouds rolled in at a speed Lukas knew was not possible. Lightning flashed across the horizon as water fell in sheets. Lukas turned to run back to the tent, but the more he ran, the further away it seemed. It was just out of reach, and his heart raced as he pushed against the inevitable.

Over the din of the pouring rain and thunder, he could hear Daniel’s voice cry out. 

“Let me go!”

_Big Four Mountain_

_Washington_

_August 21st, 2017 1:40 am_

Lukas fell off the air mattress dripping in cold sweat, still unsure if he was awake or dreaming. His head felt like it was splitting with the worst migraine he’d ever had in his life. Before he could even regain any sense of composure, he vomited on the floor of the tent. Catching his breath, he saw the tent walls shifting violently as the wind outside hammered at them. He could hear the rain hitting the roof as if someone was dumping buckets of water on it. Near constant, blinding flashes of lightning illuminated the space into an almost daylight state followed instantly by thunderclaps so loud it felt like he was in a war zone.

“Let go of my brother!” Sean’s voice called from the center section of the tent.

“Stop resisting!” said an unfamiliar rough, deep voice.

 _Oh, fuck,_ Lukas thought to himself. He was right: they _had_ been tracing their phones before the APB went out. With every flash of lightning he could see silhouettes of multiple police officers standing around the tent. He didn’t know what to do. They were completely surrounded and separated from one other. 

Behind him, he could hear fabric tearing and saw a knife ripping a hole in the back of his part of the tent. Two hands reached into the tear and pulled it open wide, revealing Max, soaking wet from the rain. She silently motioned for him to follow her out the back of the tent and pulled him into a patch of nearby thick brush, out of sight of the officers.

“Well this is a fucking storm if I ever saw one,” said Max. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

“I appreciate it, but this is not the time,” said Lukas. “Nice rewind though, there’s no way you pulled this off with them already here.”

“We need to do something _fast_ because if we wait too much longer, Sean is going to get shot and Daniel is going to lose his mind.”

“Can’t you just rewind far enough to get us all out?”

“I’ve already rewound like four times. It’s like no matter what I try, somebody winds up hurt. My head is on fire and I’m scared to try again.”

Lukas could see the tent shake as the police struggled with Sean and Daniel. It was obvious their still recent reunion had ignited a spark within them both. They would not go quietly anymore. Glancing at Max, he could see a trickle of blood running from her nose. If they tried anything too fancy, she might be the one who would pay the price this time. Lukas wracked his brain for anything they could do to at least get them out of harm's way and give them some distance.

“Max, give me the knife,” he said. “We need to do what we did back in Seattle. I’ll make this as quick as possible. Just rewind back to when the cops came into the tent. Don’t stop until we’re back here with you, ok?”

Max nodded, even though it looked to Lukas like she knew this was going to cause a lot of pain for her. It couldn’t be helped. Slicking his hair back to prevent the wet locks from falling into his eyes, he nodded to her. Beginning to rewind, Lukas could see the rain moving from the ground to the sky, like a reverse waterfall. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he would have loved to just sit there watching it for hours, taking in the beauty of it. 

Sprinting to the back of Sean and Daniel’s section, he ripped it open with the knife and jumped in. With what limited space was available, he rushed the two police officers in the tent with them and, elbowing them in the face, shoved them back. Dreading what was coming next, he grabbed Daniel and Sean's arms. They became aware of him and turned to face him.

“We have to go now!” said Lukas. “Stay close to me, don’t let me lose my grip.”

They nodded and each grabbed his hand. They tried to move but Lukas could tell they were struggling against the reversal of time’s flow. It felt like they weighed a ton, like their bodies were fighting what Lukas was trying to do. He pulled with all his might, his head screaming at him, fighting every step he took. Lukas knew he wasn’t strong enough. They had managed to exit the back of the tent, but Lukas felt his consciousness slipping. Fighting his own will, his hands released the brothers’ and Lukas fell, rolling down the short slope to where Max was.

“Lukas, are you ok?” Sean said. Lukas could feel his hand on his back.

Pushing himself up, Lukas ran his hand under his nose. Thankfully, there was no blood. But it felt like his brain was going to throb right out of his head. He looked over at Max who seemed like she was exhausted, but otherwise fine. The group huddled together in the brush and listened as the police officers shouted at one another over the roar of the storm. They sounded confused as to why the tent was empty. Lukas motioned to the group for their attention and pointed to the ice caves.

Max objected, speaking quietly but still loud enough to be heard above the storm. “No! That’s a dead end. If we go in there, they’ll corner us. We need to get back to the car.”

“We have to Max, this is it,” said Lukas. “If we try to leave now there won’t be a car to go back _to_!”

A flashlight shined on them from the direction of the tent. Lukas turned his head, his mind couldn’t process the police officer raising his gun at them. He could feel Max tugging at his hood and turned to see Sean running towards the caves. 

Daniel used his power to yank the gun from the officer’s hand and pulverize it before turning to follow his brother. Lukas and Max caught up from behind. The caves were only about 100 yards away. The clouds churned overhead, and Lukas could see a funnel starting to form.

“OPEN FIRE!”

The shots were muffled under the roar of the storm, but Lukas could still pinpoint each one. He braced for the inevitable impact. It never came. Daring to look back, he could see some kind of barrier between them and the police. It looked like it was made of a gel-like substance that was capable of absorbing bullets. 

Focusing ahead he saw Daniel with his arm extended behind him in the direction of the officers. Lukas smiled and sped up. They were going to make it. His confidence was short-lived though, as he watched with horror while Daniel tripped and fell forward, Sean reaching out to grab him. 

Before he even had time to react, Lukas felt the molten hot pain in his right shoulder that caused him to drop to his knees screaming. Gripping where the bullet had exited, he could feel warm liquid dripping through his fingers.

Daniel yelled as Lukas saw him run past his peripheral, followed by the sound of screams and thuds in the direction of the officers. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he turned to see that Daniel had knocked them all back a good few yards. Not hard enough to be lethal, but hard enough to hurt.

He felt hands clasp tightly around his shoulders and lift him onto his feet. His legs were shaky, but turning his head, he saw Sean. Hair drenched from the rain, his solitary eye gazed at Lukas with overwhelming concern.

“Shit, dude, this looks bad. Can you walk?” said Sean. “We’re almost there, we can make it!”

Lukas tried but his feet would not budge. The pain in his shoulder made his headache feel like a mild sensation of euphoria by comparison. He shook his head, unable to even form basic sentences. 

Sean motioned for Max to assist and she ran back, putting Lukas’ left arm over her shoulder. Sean gently pressed on the middle of his back, his other hand gripping Lukas’ wound, trying to stanch it as much as possible. 

They continued on to the mouth of the cave but Lukas’ feet were unwilling to move. He knew the weight of carrying him was being complicated by the pouring rain and wind. Finding the strength to look back, he could see Daniel had re-erected the barrier, and was walking backwards, protecting them. The police were back on their feet, firing to no avail.

The cave entrance loomed over them. Its interior was pitch black, only briefly visible with each subsequent lightning flash. As they moved into the abyss, he, Sean, and Max collapsed to the ground as a trio, finally giving in to the unsteady footing below them. Turning his head, Lukas could see Daniel had just entered the cavern. Holding one arm out to keep his barrier steady, Lukas watched as Daniel used his other arm to collapse the cave entrance, sealing them in.

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, el_bracco, and newwayhome! This chapter was actually much longer, but thanks to some great feedback I decided to split it in two. Hope you're looking forward to Chapter 11!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another musical cue in this chapter. This one is meant to just be thematic, not being heard by the characters. Look for the hyperlink and enjoy!

_ UC San Diego Medical Center _

_ San Diego, California _

_ July 29th, 2012 5:40 pm _

Lukas knocked on the open door of the hospital room to get Aiden’s attention and smiled as his brother’s face turned to him. It hurt him every time, knowing that it was the only part of Aiden’s body that could still move. How he wished to turn back the clock, but all he could do was look ahead, hoping that there was something he could do to give his brother the life he  _ should _ have. Sitting down in the chair beside Aiden’s bed, he glanced over at the TV and took in the episode of  _ Hawt Dawg Man _ that was playing.

“Is this a new one?” said Lukas.

“Nah, it’s a rerun,” said Aiden, his voice weak. “New season doesn’t start until September.”

“Let me know the day. I’ll make sure we can watch it together,” said Lukas. He hadn’t missed a season premier of the show with his brother yet, and he didn’t intend to change that.

Aiden frowned and looked away from his brother, out the window. “If I even make it to September.”

“Why do you say that?” said Lukas, his stomach dropping at Aiden’s words. “I thought they were going to try that new ventilator treatment on you. The one dad brought up to the doctor last time he was here, remember?”

Aiden shook his head. “They ran some more tests and said it wouldn’t do anything. They give me two months, tops.”

Lukas reached out and put his hand on Aiden’s shoulder. He knew his brother couldn’t feel it, but it was more for Lukas than for Aiden.

“They said that before, three years ago,” said Lukas. “You proved them wrong before, you’ll do it again.”

Aiden sighed and went back to watching the TV. Lukas could tell he didn’t want the conversation to continue so he joined his brother in watching the show. There had been so many nights like this, with him and Aiden just watching TV in silence, merely enjoying each other’s company. His parents had been so busy all the time working to just keep up with the medical bills, Lukas took the initiative to visit Aiden in whatever free time he had. They had tried to bring him home and have in-home care, but his condition was so fragile, and they didn’t have the space for all the required medical equipment. Mom and Dad eventually decided a long-term care hospital was the best choice.

“How are mom and dad doing?” said Aiden, not looking away from the TV.

“Same as always,” said Lukas. “Didn’t they come out and see you when I was at choir camp?”

Aiden shook his head. “Mom called to apologize, but . . .” he sighed. “She said they both couldn’t get away from work.”

Lukas glanced over at Aiden and could see the sadness in his eyes. He knew Aiden considered himself a burden on the family, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if, in the quiet hours of the night, Lukas hated himself for believing that his parents saw Aiden as nothing more than an expense that was slowly bankrupting them, he knew there was nothing he could truly do to help other than what he was already doing. 

He’d been trying so hard to give Aiden a chance, but it seemed more and more like his power was failing him. He’d been having nightmares about the vision he’d seen, the golden lights coalescing on Aiden’s heart monitor. The slow beep brought him comfort, knowing that his vision had not yet come to pass, that he still had time.

“Lukas,” said Aiden. “I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I don’t blame you for any of this.”

Lukas felt the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes. Aiden had said this before, but it never got any easier. 

“I know,” said Lukas. “But we’re going to get you through this, I promise. You’re going to have a normal life.”

“My life is fine,” said Aiden. “You’ve been awesome to me these last couple of years. I couldn’t ask for a better brother. But you deserve to be happy too. Especially after all you’ve done for me.”

“I get that, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying.”

“Hey,” said Aiden, yawning. “Can you get the TV and the blinds? I think I want to take a nap.”

Without skipping a beat, Lukas walked over to the window and shut the blinds, blocking the early evening sunlight from beating down into the room. Shutting off the TV, he moved to sit back down in the chair, adjusting Aiden’s blanket as he did so.

“Need anything else?” said Lukas.

“Nope,” said Aiden. “You gonna stick around?”

“Always.”

Lukas pulled back the lever on the chair to make it recline and felt the world drift away as the only sounds around him were Aiden’s heart monitor and his brother’s breathing. In his dreams, the golden lights continued to swirl around the heart monitor as the flatline rang out, louder and louder. Until he realized, he was no longer dreaming, but the sound was continuing. His eyes burst open and he was still at Aiden’s bedside but was no longer alone, as two nurses and a doctor had rushed in and were trying to resuscitate his brother.

“Aiden!” screamed Lukas, jumping from the chair as one of the nurses held him back.

Hope had died in his heart. He had failed his brother, everything he had tried had been for nothing, and Lukas would never forgive himself for it. He would do  _ anything _ to fix this and yet his mind could not even begin to figure out how. Closing his eyes, all he saw in the golden sea of light was chaos. Without a focus to guide him, he was lost. All he could do was pound his fist on the wall and sob.   
  


_ Big Four Mountain _

_ Washington _

_ August 21st, 2017 1:50 am _

  
In the darkness of the cave, Lukas could feel Sean dig around in his hoodie pocket for Lukas’ lighter. Finding it, Sean illuminated the room in a faint orange glow, just enough for them to make out each other’s faces. Lukas cried out in pain, tears running in rivulets down his face as the blood continued to flow from his wound.

“Fuck! It hurts so fucking much!” he said, finally finding the strength to form words.

Daniel rushed over to his side and looked at Lukas with fear in his eyes. Daniel had always seemed so mature for his age, and yet here he was, looking exactly like any other child in this scenario would: absolutely terrified.

“Lukas, I’m so sorry,” Daniel said. “I should have been more careful! I didn’t want anyone to get hurt!”

“It wasn’t your fault,  _ enano _ ,” said Sean. “You slipped, it was an accident.”

Lukas shook his head at Daniel. “You were great, buddy. I bet your big brother is super proud of you,” he said, wincing as he did so.

Hearing another ripping sound, Lukas turned his head to Max, who was tearing off a piece of her t-shirt sleeve. Using it as a makeshift bandage, she bound it tightly around Lukas’ wound. The pressure was almost more painful than the bullet itself had been, and Lukas bit his lip to stifle yet another scream of agony, not wanting to scare Daniel any more than he already had. Taking deep breaths, Lukas tried to focus on anything other than the hole in his shoulder. The roar of the storm outside echoed a hundredfold within the cave. If the police were trying to find a way in, Lukas couldn’t hear them.

“Now what do we do?” said Max. “We’re trapped and the only way out is with the police.”

Lukas closed his eyes and continued his deep breathing in an effort to ignore the pain. As he laid on the cold, gravel-laden floor of the cave, the situation felt hopeless. The only sound to be heard was the storm ravaging the world outside. Without even attempting to focus, Lukas could see a stream of golden light race overhead, followed by another, then another, all travelling in the same direction. He sighed as he opened his eyes, but the golden streams continued to fly overhead. His heart stopped when he realized he was seeing them without closing his eyes. With great effort, he managed to sit up and look behind him further into the cave. The lights trailed past him, illuminating the tunnel as they went.

“Do you guys see that?” said Lukas.

Max looked at him, confused. “What do you mean? It’s only because of the lighter I can see  _ anything _ .”

Ignoring the pain and finding the will to stand despite protests from his friends, Lukas, step by careful step, followed the path the lights were leading him down. He could feel hands on his back and side as the rest of them stayed close to him, most likely thinking he was hallucinating or going into shock from the blood loss. The further they went, the more the lights seemed to intensify, the more it felt like the temperature was dropping, the cold radiating from the hard packed ice and snow surrounding them. Beams of liquid gold seemed to trace the surface of the walls and ceiling, and they found themselves at a dead end, where the lights met from every angle in the very center.

“Daniel,” said Lukas. “Can you break that wall?”

“I’m not sure,” said Daniel, his voice carrying an air of hesitation. “I think it’s just a wall. I can try though.”

“You can do it, bro” said Sean. Lukas could feel Sean’s grip on his shoulder tighten as he spoke.

There was a soft rumble in the air that Lukas knew wasn’t thunder. He watched Daniel focus all of his energy on the barrier between them and what Lukas knew in his heart was tomorrow’s horizon, one that promised a life so much better than what any of them had known. Cracks began to form in the wall as the rumble grew more intense. Without warning, the barrier shattered. There was no need for the lighter anymore. Light poured out of the opening, originating from a small sphere in the center of a seemingly massive chamber.

“What the fuck is that?” said Max as they started to walk into the room.

Moving just inches beyond the threshold, they were stopped by some kind of barrier, even though they were still dozens of feet away from the center of the room. The sphere was pulsating chaotically. Lukas reached out his hand and felt the air in front of him, but recoiled at what felt like pure electricity. It brought him back to the reality of how much pain he was in but he gritted his teeth, determined to finish this. The beams of golden light continued on past them, swirling around the sphere, but they couldn’t proceed.

“It’s called a convergence,” said Lukas. “It’s time trying to correct itself. Every timeline meets here.”

“And you know this, how, exactly?” said Max.

“My brother told me,” said Lukas. “In a dream.”

“I want to say that sounds a bit out there, even for me, but you’ve proven me wrong multiple times now,” said Max. “So why is it here?”

“This is the storm I was talking about, Max,” said Lukas. “What’s happening outside right now? It’s being caused by this. If we don’t try to do  _ something _ that storm is going to continue to grow. But we can’t get any closer.”

Lukas considered for a moment, trying to figure out how to get past whatever was blocking them. Of course, between visions and dreams, this small detail had been overlooked. Clearly, time, the universe, or whatever was causing this phenomenon did not want them to have an easy time seeing this through. Looking around for something that might be able to help them, his eyes landed on Daniel, and he knew once again he was going to need his help.

“Daniel, I know this is going to sound weird,” said Lukas. “But just try to use your power like you’re pushing something away.”

Daniel looked at the room and back to Lukas like he was nuts. “Push what? There’s nothing here but the convergent thingy.”

“Just pretend there’s a wall, and you’re pushing it to the other side of the room,” said Lukas.

Daniel sighed and extended his arm, Lukas watched the room for any sign of change. He felt like an idiot for asking Daniel, as it didn’t take long to notice that nothing was happening. Assuming that there was nothing to lose, he reached out again, only this time he felt nothing where before there had been a prominent electric shock. Lukas realized the sphere which had, until that point, been pulsating in no clearly discernible pattern, was now moving with a much more distinct rhythm. It was almost as if Daniel’s power was calming it. He urged him on, taking one slow step after another, inching closer to the center of the room. Daniel’s face lit up as he realized the impact his power was having.

When they reached the center of the room, Lukas instructed everyone to stand where he had seen them in his vision. Daniel kept control of the wall with one hand while moving to where he needed to be without question. Sean moved opposite his brother, smiling at Lukas as he passed. Max stood opposite Lukas, her face draped in worry. As the sphere pulsed, Lukas could feel a wave of gentle warmth fall over him, like being wrapped in a blanket. It dulled the pain in his shoulder, making it easier to ignore. 

“So now what?” said Sean. “I feel kind of stupid just standing here.”

“Same,” said Max.

“Well,” said Lukas. “In my vision, we were all kind of reaching out like we were trying to touch it. Maybe we can give that a shot?”

Max sighed. “Lukas, what is that going to do? I mean, how is any of this supposed to bring people back from the dead?”

“I mean,” said Sean. “It’s worth a shot right? What have we got to lose?”

Sean reached out to try and touch the sphere, and Lukas watched with bated breath. Again, it seemed like nothing was happening. Sean looked over at Lukas and shook his head as he lowered his arm.

“Did you feel anything?” said Lukas. “Hear anything?”

“No,” said Sean. “Well, I mean, I still feel like an idiot for doing it.”

“Max, why don’t you try it?” said Lukas.

“Why don’t  _ you _ try it?” said Max.

Lukas glared at her, but she had a valid point. Lukas mimicked what he had described to the three of them. His heart sank, as he, too, felt nothing. What was he doing wrong? He tried to remember every detail of his conversation with Aiden. Was there something he’d missed? Across from him, Max was trying as well, to no avail.

“I don’t get it,” said Max. “How are we supposed to interact with it? We can’t touch it.”

“It’s supposed to be us influencing what happens,” Lukas explained. “Time is trying to figure out how to mend itself. If we can focus on whatever it is we want, the future we want, we might be able to change it so that the terrible things that happened to us, the people we lost...it’ll be like it never happened.”

“Ok, but aga--” Max started, before Sean interrupted her.

“Daniel, no!”

Lukas had been focused on Max but his attention was now drawn to where Daniel was and he saw his free arm extended toward the sphere. Golden light was streaming out of it and swirling around Daniel’s entire body. Sean went to move but Lukas stopped him. This was it, if they didn’t finish what Daniel had started, there wouldn’t be a future for any of them.

“Daniel, what did you do?” said Lukas.

“I just focused on it like you said,” said Daniel, the light continuing to swirl around him. “And I thought about how much I miss my dad. As soon as that happened, I could hear like, a voice, calling out to me.”

“ _ Enano, _ ” said Sean, pushing against Lukas’ uninjured arm still holding him back. “What were you thinking?”

“I want Dad back,” said Daniel. “I don’t care what it takes.”

“I want him back too,” Sean replied, his voice wavering. “But what if this doesn’t work? What if we lose each other instead?”

“We’re going to see Dad again,” said Daniel, smiling at his brother. “Our new friends are here to help us. It’s ok, Sean. I’ll take care of you from now on.”

Daniel’s words appeared to resonate with Sean. Before Lukas had a chance to interject, Sean mirrored his brother’s actions, and he was enveloped in golden light, giving off a glow similar to how Lukas had seen Aiden in his dream. He looked back to Max, wanting to ensure she was ok but noticed she was staring at him with a fierce intensity.

“What?” he said.

She pointed at him. “Your shoulder.”

Looking down, the bandage had fallen off and the bullet wound was gone. His shirt was still stained with blood, but he no longer felt any pain. He looked back at Max and smiled, she returned it. After all this time, no words needed to be spoken, but they had come to understand one another. Lukas watched as she too extended her arm to the sphere, becoming traced in gold. It was Lukas’ turn. Everything that had happened over the last week and a half had been leading up to this. His dreams had spoken to him, the vision a constant in his mind, but now that he was here, he hesitated. Lukas thought he knew what he wanted, but Aiden’s voice echoed in his mind.

_ Bring me back, and it’s like two magnets, constantly pushing each other apart. A paradox the universe will be unable to successfully resolve. There  _ will  _ be consequences. _

He stared at the sphere, at Max, Daniel, and Sean. Lukas could walk away from this knowing they were happy. But was that enough for him? The greater good was how he had always phrased it, but the longer he dwelled on it the more he wondered if he really believed his own words. His brother’s death had fundamentally changed him. Could he have a normal, happy life knowing that the others had achieved what he could not? He remembered the day in the hospital and the grief he had felt. Was all of that pain worth it if, with a solution right in front of him, he didn’t take advantage of it for the sake of the rest of them?

[ _ Fuck it _ ](https://youtu.be/Sl2HeP8RlfU) , he thought. Extending his healed arm to the sphere, the lights he had seen so many times in his mind danced around him. Whatever it was that needed to be done, his action was the catalyst. The lights moved between the group, connecting them, zigzagging, increasing and decreasing in intensity, pulsating in the same rhythm as the sphere itself. The walls of the chamber took on a mirror-like quality. Looking around, it was as if he could see them all passing into infinity. Direction had no meaning. Lukas’ mind could not comprehend where they existed within space-time. It wasn’t painful, but rather the most joyful experience he had ever had. Every positive memory in his life, few they were in number, flashed through his mind in an instant. Tears ran down his face. Without words, he could feel the energy within the sphere calling out to him, asking what future he wanted to see.

_ I want my brother back. Healthy and free. I want the life neither of us ever had. _

There was resistance, as if the universe wanted to refuse his request. He pushed back. Nothing was going to take this away from him now. Lukas could not risk the what-if scenario that he’d have to live with forever if he didn’t seize this moment. 

A vision passed through Lukas’ mind that rocked him to his very core, but before he could even think or act, the intensity of the sphere began to burn brighter, to the point where he could only see an ocean of white, and Lukas knew no more.

  
***

The sunlight peeked through the curtains that were being blown around by a gentle breeze. It had to be about 7:45, which was totally like Max, waking up 15 minutes before her alarm. Even though it was summer, the temperature had been mild enough to keep the windows open at night. This morning, though, it seemed slightly colder than normal. Instinctively, Max got up from the bed and shut the window. Staring at the San Francisco cityscape, she paused.

_ How did I get here? Was that all just a dream? _

Turning around, she realized this wasn’t her apartment. Sure, some of her stuff was there, but the walls and floor were all different. Where there had been drywall and cinder block with linoleum was now brick and hardwood. As she tried to regain her composure and figure out where the hell she was, a sound drew her attention to the bed. Only this bed was not hers, even though she had just climbed out of it. Pulling back the comforter from over their head, a half-asleep blue-haired woman sat up and looked at Max.

“Why’d you close the window?”

Max could have passed out right then. The tears began to fall and she didn’t even try to hide them.

“Chloe…”

***

_ Up on melancholy hill, there’s a plastic tree _

_ Are you here with me _

_ Just looking ou-- _

Sean’s hand fumbled with the objects on his nightstand. Finding his phone, he hit the snooze button and buried his face back into his pillow. Thank god it was summer, he would have been late for school already. 

He shot up in bed. To his left was his desk, his laptop still open from the night before. Trophies, photos, and his skateboard adorned the walls. Sean’s heart stopped when it dawned on him, waving his hand in front of his face, that he could see out of his left eye again.

The smell of bacon and eggs permeated the room, thanks to sharing a wall with the kitchen. Not even putting pants on, he jumped out of bed and ran to his door. Opening it, Daniel’s door across the hall opened at the same time. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Their gaze was broken when a voice called out from the kitchen.

“I hear movement over there! I suggest you come join me or I will have to eat all of this myself!”

They stared at each other once more, and laughed through the tears.

  
  


***

Lukas’ phone buzzed and he jumped up in his chair. He’d fallen asleep in front of his computer again. The movement had woken up his monitor and he could see he’d been writing song lyrics the night before. His phone buzzed again and he grabbed it, ready to throw it across the room for disturbing him. A feeling of déjà vu crept into his mind. Reading through the text messages from someone named S. Banker, they referred to him getting set up for a gig at some club.

Lukas had no idea what any of this was. Like a wheel starting to turn from a dead stop, his memories started coming back. He had been in the cave with Max, Daniel, and Sean. They had made it to the convergence. He looked around and noticed that he wasn’t in his room, but in one he didn’t even recognize. None of the belongings were his, or at least he believed they weren’t. He lived in a studio in a shitty part of San Diego. This was some kind of modernist architecture bedroom in a larger house. Stark black and white walls matched the furniture. It was an environment that was completely foreign to him. What the hell had happened?

There was a knock on the door. The person behind it opened the door as they spoke.

“Dude, your driver is out there, says you’re late for your recording session. Do you want me to have him come back or what?”

Lukas turned, and as his eyes met Aiden’s, he felt a lump in his throat but he could find no words. He took in his brother’s visage and couldn’t believe how much 4 years could make a difference in a person. Aiden looked just like how Lukas had seen him in his dream. Realizing he was staring overlong, he averted his gaze but stopped when he saw marks on Aiden’s left arm. Lukas’ heart dropped. Before he could ask about them, Aiden noticed him staring and rolled down his sleeve.

“I’ll let him know you’ll be right out,” he said, closing the door behind him.

  
  


**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, big thanks to my beta readers darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco! Let me know what you think in the comments section.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More music links in this chapter! Keep an eye out for them.
> 
> Additionally, real life is starting to catch up to me, and I have less time to write. Therefore, I will be taking an indefinite hiatus from the story as it has become something more of a chore than something I take enjoyment in. Apologies to those of you waiting on the next chapter. I fully intend to return to this eventually, but it will definitely have to be something I do once I am able to give it the attention and love it deserves.

_ San Francisco, CA _

_ October 11th, 2019 5:40pm _

_ 2 Years, 4 Months, 20 Days since the Convergence _

Max had always loved fall. Even though her current residence never really got the autumnal colors that she was so envious of the Pacific northwest for, the cooler weather and increase in outfit options compared to just a few months prior never failed to excite her when they finally arrived. Plus, as basic as it made her feel, the ubiquitous pumpkin spice-flavored everything was kind of amazing. She would never tell Chloe that, though. It would damage her “street cred” or at least whatever little of it she still had these days.

Sipping her coffee (non-pumpkin spice, unfortunately) at an outdoor cafe table with Chloe, she scrolled through her students’ most recent submissions on her tablet and cringed. Max often wondered if she had considered such subjects worthy of photography at that age, despite it being just a few years ago, or if the bar really had lowered that much in such a short span of time. Chloe laughed across the table from her and Max looked up to see what was so funny, thankful for the distraction. Her girlfriend had her phone at the ready for Max to view the political meme. It was humorous enough to warrant a chuckle, but she could tell it hadn’t been the reaction Chloe was hoping for.

“Max, what is up with you?” said Chloe. “It’s like you’re a million miles away.”

“No, it’s just,” Max began, letting out a light sigh and closing the app on her tablet before rubbing her eyes. “We’re barely a month into the semester and these freshmen are driving me nuts. They’re completely missing the point of this project.”

“Why don’t you just quit then? I never really pictured you as a professor anyway.”

“Well, first of all, I’m actually a GA,” said Max. “Second of all, the stipend I make from it is helping us barely scrape by in this ridiculously overpriced city.”

“Not that you’re complaining or anything. I’m sorry I can’t find something more lucrative than bartending.”

“Chloe, you know I’m only doing this until I’m able to find enough freelance work to make a name for myself.”

Max’s phone buzzed and she saw Daniel’s name pop up on the screen. Two years later and she still wasn’t quite used to random texts from a ten, well, now twelve year-old kid, nor the circumstances in which that was socially acceptable. Even if she had been Sean and Daniel’s babysitter for a time (apparently), Max had learned not to question things in this new timeline and just roll with it. Faking it until she made it was the name of the game.

_ Have you given Sean an F yet? _

_ No he’s not taking photography,  _ she texted back.

_ Well you should give him one anyway.  _

Three dots signaled another incoming message.

_ Has Lukas texted you? _

_ Not for a while, but you know how slow he is to reply. _

Max hit ‘Send’. Bringing up Lukas conjured a twinge of guilt. Her doubts, both of him and their goals, had stayed at the forefront of her mind until the last possible second. She knew this was the reason they hadn’t parted on the best of terms. Even though they had managed to reconnect, it seemed as if Lukas had been deliberately trying to keep his distance. This bothered Max even though they hadn’t exactly known each other very long. What they had experienced together, in such a short time, had been substantial. Despite this, Max knew little more about Lukas now than she had back then.

Putting the phone back down to take another sip of her coffee, her eyes caught Chloe’s mid-sip. She noticed Chloe hadn’t gone back to her phone but was still eyeing Max in that way that Chloe had trademarked back in Arcadia Bay. It was platonic and romantic, innocent and mischievous, all at the same time. The look that Max had fallen in love with, but had to say goodbye to much sooner than she would have liked. For years after Blackwell she would never forget that last kiss in the storm. The passion she could almost still taste, gone in the blink of an eye. And yet, here Max was, sitting across from the love of her life. Two years together hadn’t lessened the impact of that on her at all. 

“Awfully bold of you to text your secret boyfriend right in front of me,” said Chloe.

“Yes, my 12 year-old boyfriend,” said Max. “He’s giving you some real competition. I may just have to pack my things soon, it’s starting to get pretty serious.”

“Anything juicy I should know about?”

“Oh, you know, just talking about a potential throuple with an old friend of ours. Daniel also wants me to flunk his brother out of art school.”

“Scandalous!”

Max laughed as Chloe looked back at her own phone. It dawned on Max that she hadn’t really seen Sean at all since he’d started at SFAI. She had visited the Diaz family briefly when she’d gone up to visit her own family for the Fourth of July, but beyond that they had mostly kept in touch via text. Her mind wandered back to that visit, and the warmth she had felt, seeing how happy they both were with their father. Even though she knew the past that Esteban remembered was not the one they had come from, she understood why it was so important for him to be in Sean and Daniel’s lives. The life they would have led without him being a part of it would never have been as fulfilling. She felt the same way about her life with Chloe. Though she and Lukas had their differences, Max could never express to him how much it meant to have this life now, a life she never thought possible. If Lukas had never come into her life, where would she be now? Coming back down from her reverie, she noticed Chloe frowning at her phone.

“What’s up?” said Max.

“They had a call-out for happy hour and are asking if I can cover,” said Chloe. “Would you mind keeping me company at the bar? It’ll be a short shift.”

Max laughed and had already started packing up her stuff before Chloe had even finished speaking. “Sure, that’d be hella awesome.”

“Max, that is  _ my _ word. Stop stealing my thunder.”

Walking hand in hand down the streets of San Francisco, Max recollected on the past 2 years. In Arcadia Bay, she would have given anything to have this life, before it got snatched away. As the sun started to set over the rooftops, and the cool night breeze became more prominent, she pulled Chloe close and put her arm around her. Eyes meeting, they shared a brief kiss. The spark had never died since they’d been reunited and every time their lips met it still felt like the first time to Max. She would never stop cherishing these moments. Her life was exactly where she wanted it to be. Things weren’t always perfect, and they could definitely be doing better financially, but they had each other. That was all Max wanted.

Rounding a corner, Max’s eye caught the sign for Ginger’s, Chloe’s fairly stable place of employment. Max had never pictured Chloe as someone capable of holding down a steady 9-5, but she seemed to enjoy bartending, particularly at a gay bar where the clientel were a lot less likely to grope her. Passing underneath the rainbow flag and into a grungy but otherwise unassuming dive, Max had the feeling of being struck in the face with a 2x4 by the odor of body spray and the sounds of  [ early aughts pop music ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0PHJ1bMFu4) bombarding her senses. This wasn’t a scene that either she or Chloe really blended into. Even still, the tip money was decent and her girlfriend knew a thing or two about mixing drinks, so Max could tolerate it for a little while.

Chloe gave Max a peck on the cheek as she hopped behind the bar and set to work. Searching around the dimly lit, overly black room, Max eyed an unoccupied booth in the corner and made a beeline for it. She wouldn’t have to worry about guys hitting on her, but she still needed to be out of the mix to be able to focus on her work. Sighing as she booted up her tablet again she could sense the stress creep up her back and into her brain. The muscles in her shoulders tensed, and she could already feel a headache coming on. 

She didn’t know how it was possible, but as she went through the pictures and made comments that would go back to the students on their work, it felt like every picture was worse than the last. Max had a blank expression on her face but on the inside she was screaming, making a conscious effort to not create a scene in Chloe’s workplace. It was a welcome relief when Chloe passed by the table and left a Sex on the Beachin her wake. Max had just finished up the last of the pictures, and a tropical concoction was just what she needed.

Scoping out the room, Max noted there was a decent crowd for a Friday night happy hour and even spotted a couple of her students among the patrons. In some ways, she envied the people she was observing for being so capable of socialization, even if this whole scene felt like just a slightly less pretentious Vortex Club party. In another life, she would have felt paralyzed by anxiety in this same situation. Max caught a face in the crowd as she sipped her drink and it caused her to smirk. Sporting shaggy black hair and a dark blue hoodie with a red and blue wolf design on the front, it was clear that college hadn’t changed Sean’s sense of style.

He was sitting with a group of guys, laughing and poking fun at one another. One of them in particular was eyeing him the way Warren used to look at her. Max remembered that gaze quite well, and even with the best of intentions from its source it still made her feel a little uneasy. The situation was made even juicier by the fact that the guy eying Sean was in Max’s class. Trying to be as nonchalant as possible, she made her way over to the booth they were sitting at. The creeper noticed her first.

“Well hey there boys,” she said, leaning against the table. “Gabe, I think you should be spending a little more time working on your lighting instead of hitting on guys. Especially one so near and dear to my heart.”

Max wanted to burst out laughing as her student’s eyes went wide. She knew Gabriel pretty well and was confident he knew she was only joking, even if she  _ had  _ wounded his pride. Turning to Sean, his face displayed an equally shocked expression, the drink in his hand halfway to his mouth, frozen in time.

“Hey, Max,” said Sean. It seemed like it had taken some effort to even get that out.

“And  _ you _ ,” said Max. “I cleaned up your barf after you had too much Halloween candy. And  _ this _ is how you repay me? By using a fake to buy overpriced beer at my girlfriend’s establishment?”

Sean slid the beer to the guy sitting next to him and put his hands in his lap without saying a word, but the color had drained from his face as the other guys at the table started to have a hard time stifling their collective laughter. Max was going to have to really beg for forgiveness later. But even if she didn’t remember it, she had more than enough stories from Esteban to blackmail Sean for the rest of his life if she chose to do so. Max directed the rest of the group’s attention over to Chloe at the bar.

“Tell the bartender the next round for you guys is on her,” she said. “Let her know it’s courtesy of SuperMax.”

Permission had been granted for free drinks and Max knew college kids weren’t going to turn that down. Placing her hand on Sean’s shoulder, she nodded her head in the direction of the front door. He nodded back and Max walked outside with him into the cool air of the early evening. The sun had set and the Financial District street was illuminated by countless streetlights. Max leaned against the wall a few feet away from the front door as patrons shuffled in and out. Trying to be as dramatic as possible, she let out a long sigh and threw her hands up in the air.

“Guess I’m just gonna have to tell your dad what a degenerate you are,” she said, smiling.

“I mean, you wouldn’t be telling him anything he didn’t already know,” Sean replied, before his brow furrowed and his own smile faded. “Well, mostly anything at least.”

Jesus, Max, you sure do know how to miss out on social cues. She knew it was not the time for playful banter after that statement. The reality of the situation hit her and in her haste to poke some fun at Sean, she hadn’t even realized the circumstances in which they were meeting. 

“Fuck, Sean, I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean it like that. Does your dad know?”

Sean shrugged and leaned up against the wall beside her. “ _ I _ don’t even know, to be honest. Gabe flirted with me a couple times and I was very much into it. Plus I kissed a guy once. Before everything with us happened.”

“As your former babysitter, I advise you to stay away from Gabe, he’s trouble,” Max said, getting a laugh out of Sean. “Seriously, though, I know your dad thinks we’ve known each other forever, but even if that’s not true, I know him well enough to get the vibe that he wouldn’t have a problem. I mean, he met Chloe and he was cool with us right?”

“Yeah, but, that’s different. You’re just a friend of the family and you’re a  _ girl _ .”

“Wow, sexist much?” said Max, giving him a gentle punch in the arm.

“You know what I mean, Max. He’s my dad. I’m his first-born son.”

“So it’d be ok if Daniel likes boys, but not you?”

Sean laughed. “I think he’d date the zombies from Minecraft if he had the chance. Who knows what he’s going to end up into.”

Max had an image of a wedding between a blocky zombie and Daniel pass through her mind and thought it wasn’t  _ that _ much of a stretch. Focusing on the seriousness of the moment, she realized she knew what Sean was going through. Discovering herself hadn’t been some kind of clouds parting and angels singing revelation. It had just sort of happened, and Chloe had been the biggest catalyst for that. Max felt a kind of big sister affection for Sean in that moment. If he didn’t have the support system he needed at this critical time in his life, she could try to be that for him.

“I’m serious, Sean,” she said. “You really think he wouldn’t take it well?”

“I don’t know,” said Sean. “I remember, before all this shit happened, before we turned ourselves in, I had a dream where I told him about this guy, Finn, the one I kissed. And he was cool with it. But maybe that was like, my mind just fucking telling me what I wanted to hear, you know?”

“What about your mom?” said Max. “I know you guys were trying to find a way to contact her. Do you think she’d be ok with it?”

“I don’t even know what it  _ is _ . But if it’s what I  _ think _ it is, I feel like she’d be cool with it,” Sean said, sighing. “Daniel keeps pushing me to get on dad about getting in touch with her, but I don’t want to fuck things up. The three of us spent Christmas with my grandparents last year so, that’s a start, right?”

Max nodded and put her hand on Sean’s shoulder, attempting to comfort him. She wanted to help him through his struggle, but the more they talked, the more she understood that his experience was very different from her own. Max had gone through trauma, but she had time to process and move on with her life. Sean, on the other hand, didn’t have that luxury. He hadn’t even had a chance to recover before being flung into a reality that turned everything he had experienced on its head. Still having to process everything that had happened to him, along with dealing with the normal struggles of becoming an adult, had to be throwing him for a complete loop.

“Well, no matter what happens,” she said, “I want you to know that Chloe and I will be there for you if things don’t pan out how you hope they will.”

“Thanks, Max,” said Sean. “I know we aren’t super close, or at least I should have kept in touch more, but still, that means a lot.”

Catching a flash of blue walking out the door of the bar, Max leaned past Sean to get a better view and waved Chloe over to where they were standing. Chloe gave Sean a little bro-hug, as had been their custom, and flashed a wad of cash at Max. Chloe made a show of smelling it and running her thumb along the edge of the bills. Max and Sean laughed.

“So, what were you doing at the bar, Sean?” said Chloe, getting right to the point.

“Things he shouldn’t be,” said Max. She gave Sean a sidelong smirk.

“Yeah, probably doing  _ people  _ he shouldn’t be either, I bet,” said Chloe. “Anyway, I’m starving and I need to get my bake on so, how about some thai and my special brownies? You in, Sean?”

Sean looked back at the bar, clearly deciding if he wanted to part ways with the group he had come in with. “Well, honestly, I felt kind of awkward with those guys so...”

“So that means you’re all ours tonight, mister,” said Max.

Sean managed to send off a quick text to his friends before she and Chloe hooked onto either side of him and escorted him through the city streets. Stopping by Max’s favorite thai place for take-out, Sean, ever the gentleman, offered to carry the food for the remainder of the trip. Reaching a block of red brick apartments and climbing a few flights of stairs, they finally arrived at Max and Chloe’s humble abode: a small brick-interior studio with a surprisingly good view of the North Beach neighborhood and, on a clear day, Alcatraz. The decor was very eclectic, part punk-rock, part tortured artist. Sitting on cushions around a low-to-the-ground table, they dug into their pad thai as the smell of peanuts and sweet chili filled the room. 

As the styrofoam cartons went from full to empty, Max watched Chloe run over to the kitchenette and pull a small baking pan with foil wrapped around it out of the pantry. Returning to the table, she removed the foil and offered the pan to Sean and Max, who each took a brownie. Moving to a couple of large bean bags in front of the TV and putting on  _ Blade Runner 2049 _ , they all fell into a blissful euphoria, laughing, joking, and being far too loud for the neighbors despite it only being 8:30. Max wondered to herself, as best she could given the haze in her head, if life could get any more perfect than it was right in that moment. Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, expecting a text from Daniel. He was the only person who seemed to text her on a regular basis these days. But as she read the screen, she no longer felt high and just stared at the name of the sender.

Chloe and Sean stopped their conversation momentarily when they noticed Max staring at her phone.

“What is it?” said Sean.

Max looked over at them before turning back to the screen. “It’s from Lukas. This is the first time he’s texted me in, like, six months. And that last one was a cat meme.”

“What’s it say?” said Sean.

“It just says ‘Check your email’,” said Max, unlocking her phone and opening her email app. She felt Chloe’s chin on her shoulder but was far too focused to care if she eavesdropped on her phone. 

As her email loaded, right at the top of the list was an unread message from Ticketmaster with the subject line:  _ Your e-tickets are now available _ . Max opened it, dreading what tickets she could have possibly received. If Lukas’ idea of reconnecting after six months of silence was playing some kind of prank on her, sending her to Disney On Ice or some shit, they would have words. But the reality was far more shocking.

_ Lukas Harwood: The Afterlife Tour _

_ 10/31/2019 7:00 PM _

_ CenturyLink Field _

_ Seattle, WA _

_ Club-Level Suite #31 _

_ Guest 1: Maxine Caulfield _

_ Guest 2: Chloe Price _

“Holy shit! Those are primo seats!” said Chloe, causing Max to jump. “Wait, hold the fuck up, you  _ know  _ Lukas Harwood?”

“Yeah, but how do you know him?” said Max.

“How have you not  _ told  _ me this?!” said Chloe. “Lukas Harwood has been blowing up recently! I love his shit, it’s so good, haven’t you heard it? Either of you?”

Max shook her head slowly, as did Sean. Max knew  _ her  _ music tastes ran pretty indie, but she thought Chloe’s did too. Remembering the song Lukas had sung at the campfire that night, it did not seem like music Chloe would have been into, but then again, Max had learned very quickly to not assume everything in this new future was going to line up perfectly with what she thought she had known. She certainly wasn’t a slave to trends and barely watched TV these days. Regardless, this whole situation just felt off.

Chloe threw her hands up in the air and synced her phone up to their bluetooth speaker. A  [ bass-heavy song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS40_Tpxnx4) started playing and Chloe began to rock out like she had that day in Arcadia Bay. Max smiled, remembering how Chloe had tried to get her to come out of her shell and dance with her. This certainly was  _ not _ Max’s style of music, but the fact that Chloe was basically a Lukas groupie was quite hilarious to her. She glanced over at Sean who was now looking at his phone as well.

“Did he text you too?” she said.

“No, it’s from Daniel, but I guess I’m going to a concert on Halloween? And Lukas is the headliner?” Sean replied.

Max smiled. “Looks like we’re both getting a long weekend in Seattle soon!”

  
  


***

_ STAPLES Center _

_ Los Angeles, CA _

_ October 11th, 2019 9:50pm _

The roar of the crowd faded as Lukas, dripping in sweat, walked down the stairs backstage as a crew member handed him a towel. Wiping his face off and reaching for the bottle of water he knew was coming, he brought it to his lips and guzzled it down. He was on the final leg of the tour and it felt like the last eight months had flown by. As much as he loved being on the road, he was ready to relax for a bit after going nonstop for so long. He hadn’t heard from Daniel or Max yet but he hoped they’d read his message. He knew he hadn’t been the most communicative in a while, and it bothered him, but even in this new future he had responsibilities that took precedence. Almost too much at times.

“Great show, as always,” said a voice to his right. Good old Scott Banker, his manager.

“Thanks Scott. You sent those emails out for me, right?”

“Yeah, you lucked out though. We had to bump someone out of that suite since it was so last minute.”

Lukas shrugged. “Refund them or upgrade them, I guess.”

“Already done. But we need to talk about your next recording sess--”

Lukas held up his hand. “Not tonight, Scott. I just want to get on the bus and unwind.”

Acquiescing, Scott stepped out of the way as he had been blocking the path to Lukas’ tour bus. Lukas didn’t know if the life he was living was something he had asked for, or was simply what the universe dictated would be in a reality where Aiden survived. Either way, it left him in a very unique position. Privacy and anonymity were now foreign concepts to him, and he hated how the world had a constant window into his life. After two years straight of living like this, the thought that he could break away for a bit and see the three of them again, now that things were under control, felt like he had an IV drip of dopamine attached to him. His phone buzzed and his heart raced, excited to see who had responded. But his stomach dropped when he saw the name and the message.

**_D.M._ **

_ He’s bleeding me dry. When are you in Malibu next? We need to talk. _

Lukas stopped a few feet from the tour bus door and fought the urge to break the phone in half. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Scott had been trying to get him to quit, and Lukas had been semi-successful, but the text had set his progress back to the beginning. Lighting up, he inhaled and as the smoke filled his lungs it chipped away at the stress. He exhaled and as he did so he clenched his hand around the phone and gritted his teeth.

“Fuck!”

**_To be continued..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, big thanks to my beta-readers: darkjaden825698, autumnyte, newwayhome, and el_bracco! Hope everyone in the states has a great Independence Day Weekend!


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